


The Scientist and the Storyteller

by MirrorKing96



Series: Scientist and Storyteller [1]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-20
Updated: 2016-10-16
Packaged: 2018-05-15 05:04:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 262,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5772349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MirrorKing96/pseuds/MirrorKing96
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barry Allen is a CSI working to free his father. Iris West is a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist with a secret. What happens when they have to work on an article about the mysterious Dr Harrison Wells and his Particle Accelerator and slowly discover they've secretly known each other their whole lives? Multichapter AU. Barry will become the Flash...eventually. Appearances from Team Arrow and characters from wider DC universe. Complete.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Homecoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Iris comes home from Gotham.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is my take on what would have happened if Barry and Iris' lives had been a little different. Expect emotional moments, Westallen messiness, and lots of shenanigans. Also people from all over the DC universe. Barry will become the Flash. Also, I'm still planning as I write, so I might LITERALLY change my mind in the middle of a plot point, lol. I hope you enjoy it!

Iris West was not supposed to be in Central City.

She was supposed to be in Gotham City, still working for the newspaper that gave her a job after she graduated from Northwestern. Instead, the Gotham Gazette were stuck with temps and freelancers until they found a new senior features writer. The going away party had her in tears by the end of the night, not least because it had ended with her boss calling her his best features writer since Perry White upped and left them for the Daily Planet. With everyone wishing her well and patting her on the back and saying how much they’d miss her, Iris had yet another thing to add to her list of signs that she was making a mistake.

She shook these thoughts from her head as she walked quickly to baggage claim, her handbag dangling from her shoulder. Most of the people on the flight from Gotham to Central City were families, but she did spot a couple of businessmen barking rudely into their phones or working on the plane. She herself had tried firing up her MacBook to catch up on the blog that she’d been neglecting for the last few weeks when she’d taken it upon herself to take a wrecking ball to her perfect life, but she couldn’t concentrate with the couple next to her determined to lick each other’s faces off in the seat across from her. She didn’t know what was sadder – that she kept thinking about Kyle and what it would be like to be that couple again…or the fact that she realised that she didn’t actually want to be that couple again.

So Iris just shut it down and curled up in the blanket that she always took travelling with her and slept for the three-hour flight. And now she was making her way towards arrivals, her stomach jumping with a mixture of nerves and anticipation, and a dopey grin on her face. Really, she said to herself as she started to speed up, she shouldn’t have been this excited. It was just the same old two people who always came to the airport to greet her whenever she came to visit them. They were her family, for God’s sake – it was the most natural, boring thing in the world for them to be here. But then she saw her father in his beanie that he never let her buy in any other colour than black, and Wally standing there with the most ridiculous sign she had ever seen in front of his face – ‘Iris’ with lots of little ladybirds around it – and she didn’t realise that she was running until she’d slammed into her father’s arms.

“Hi, Daddy,” she sniffled, because of course she was crying. “I missed you.”

“Oh, I missed you two, my baby girl,” he said into her hair, hugging her close. She breathed in his familiar scent of his aftershave and their kitchen and the office and it was just such a _Dad_ smell that she hadn’t realised she’d missed this much. Then she pulled away from him to look at Wally and the big grin on his face. Instead of hugging him, however, she grabbed his ears and tweaked them.

“Hey there, Dumbo,” she grinned, and he rolled his eyes.

“You see what I have to put up with, Dad? Fifteen seconds and she starts.”

“Come here, asshole,” she said, enveloping him in a hug. Or at least, she tried to; Wally had grown another two inches since she’d last seen him, and she now had to fully tilt her head up to look at him. “When did you get so big, Dumbo?”

“Maybe if you visited more often, instead of spending all your time chasing after Gotham’s most wanted scumbags, you’d know what was going on my life, ladybird.”

“Still got that smart mouth, I see,” she said, pulling away from him and then handing him her bag. Her dad and her brother were smiling at her, and she smiled back through her tears. She didn’t know whether she’d made the best decision, or even whether or not she’d be back on the phone with Kyle by the time they got in her dad’s jeep, begging him to take her back. But she did know that the little ember glowing inside her, that made her feel like singing as she linked arms with her father and brother, that for the first time in a long time she finally felt at home.

***

“Glad to see you still eat like a pig,” Iris said, twirling her fork in the air. Wally simply shrugged his shoulders and shoved another mouthful of peach cobbler in his mouth. Iris wrinkled her nose at him and turned to her father. “Is he always like this?”

Her dad shrugged, sipping his coffee before going back to his paper. “Look, my job was to get him into graduate school; as long as he’s studying and doing his chores, I don’t care how he eats.”

“Thanks, old man.”

“But I do care how he talks to me, and I hope he remembers that I’ve got a gun.”

Wally swallowed and grinned. “Sorry, Dad.”

“Mm-hm. So, Iris, what are you doing about work? I know the Gazette was sad to see you go.”

Iris chewed and swallowed, sitting back. “I do, actually. Apparently chasing after Gotham’s most wanted scumbags,” she added, poking her brother in the ribs, “gets you some clout in this business. I called Linda, and she said-”

Wally perked right up at that. “Linda? You called Linda? How is she?”

“She’s fine and you are _not allowed_ to flirt with her when she comes over tomorrow,” Iris replied, getting up to put her plate away. “I mean it, Wally.”

Her little brother pouted. “What? I’m harmless! And she’s so…Linda,” he sighed dreamily.

“Yeah, Linda. My best friend, a grown-up sports reporter, who doesn’t have time for college students who eat food like they’re never going to see it again.”

“I’m a _graduate_ student,” Wally corrected her, “and once the new semester starts I’ll be one step closer to working for Queen Industries, if I can just get that stupid generator to work.”

“Whatever. So, anyway, I called Linda, and apparently they need a new features editor over at Central City Picture News, so she’s coming over tomorrow to help me get ready for the interview. I mean, she said I’m pretty much a shoe-in, but you can never be too sure.”

Her father put down his newspaper. “Nervous?”

Iris shrugged, pouring herself some coffee and then adding milk and sugar. “I little, I guess. I mean, it’s new people, and I’ve never worked as an editor before – it’s much more responsibility than I had at the Gazette, that’s for sure.”

“You’ll knock it out of the park, sis. Because you’re…” Wally leapt out of his chair and struck a superhero pose, fists on hips and chest puffed out. “Iris West, Super Reporter and badass of Central City Picture News’.”

“Pretty sure a cape isn’t going to get me through this interview, Dumbo,” she said, giving one of his ears a soft yank as she sat down again. “But I’m going to have to go shopping tomorrow, since I don’t have all my stuff from Chicago yet.”

Iris regretted it as soon as she said it, but it was too late. She felt rather than saw her father and Wally share a look even as she was stirring her coffee, and she knew they wanted to ask the questions, why she had suddenly called her father last week and telling him that she was coming home, with no mention of her job or her boyfriend or the life that apparently everyone but her could see was perfect. But Iris didn’t have an answer for herself, and she knew damn well she couldn’t give them one. Not one that they’d understand, anyway. So she pretended she hadn’t seen it and breezed right on.

“Anyway, I’ll be out of your hair in about a week once my stuff comes over. Linda’s roommate moved out a month ago and she’s drowning on the rent, and I can think of no better way to reconnect with my best friend than surviving a crappy apartment downtown together.”

“Now, baby girl, you know I said you can stay here, right?” her father replied, eyebrows knitted. Iris smiled fondly at him. It didn’t matter now that his hairline was receding and there were a little more wrinkles around the dark brown eyes and ears that Wally had inherited, and he wore a lot more ‘dad sweaters’ (“They’re comfortable!” he always grumbled), he was still the same old dad that would go through hell to protect her, even if she was twenty-five and had been making enough money to survive for years. “I don’t want you to have to worry about rent if it’s just easier for you to stay here.”

“Yeah, I know,” she replied. “But I kind of want to make a fresh start after…everything, so new apartment it is. I’ll come over every Sunday to make dinner though, how does that sound?”

“It sounds awesome,” Wally answered, “especially because Sunday is usually my cooking day and I’m thinking Dad is getting sick of the different ways I can make enchiladas.”

“You got that right.”

Iris laughed. “Sure. So how’s work, Dad? I hear there were a lot of things going on at CCPD.”

Her father sighed. “Yeah, there was a big shake up over at Missouri State Police, so now everyone’s moving around. We lost three five patrolmen, three detectives, and we’ve only got one CSI left. Add that to the fact that the DA is still trying to find out who was involved in the drug bust at the Sun Dial Church, and CCPD looks like a hurricane hit it every time you walk in.”

“Oh yeah, and Eddie’s leaving,” Wally added, “so CSI the Dork won’t have anyone to talk to, which sucks.”

Joe glared at Wally. “Are you ever going to stop calling him that, or do you just not know his name?”

“What? Come on, it’s cool. And you know I think the guy’s hilarious, it’s just…”

Iris zoned out of the conversation as her phone beeped and when she saw what it was, her stomach dropped. Then she read the message:

 _Kyle:_  
_FW: Good evening!_  
_Your belongings have been dispatched for delivery and should reach CENTRAL CITY, MISSOURI, within the next 3-5 days. Please have someone available to sign for the collection of your items._  
_Thank you for using Queen Logistics_  
_…_  
_Hope you got home okay. X_

Iris swallowed and suddenly felt like she didn’t want any more cobbler. She stood up, interrupting her father and brother in their argument about what the CSI’s actual name was. “I think I’m gonna turn in.”

“You okay, ladybird?” her brother asked, tilting his head to one side. She mustered up a smile that she knew didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Yeah, I’m fine, just tired.”

She kissed her father and her brother goodnight before traipsing upstairs to her old room, where she had nothing but the carry on from the plane, a small suitcase and the stuff she’d left here when she stayed over a few Christmases ago. Much to the despair of both her father and Wally, even though it was no longer the violently pink monstrosity that had been the norm until she turned fourteen, the walls were still adorned with posters of Justin Timberlake and Usher. The single bed had freshly-changed sheets – courtesy of Wally, she’d find out later – and her old oak desk where she’d written some of her first stories was still covered in her clutter. There was picture of her and Linda from their last day of high school, one of her, Wally and their father when they’d gone to visit great-aunt Esther in National City, and a very old, very wrinkled photo that had been taken when Iris was six.

It was one of the few remaining photos of the West family when it was whole.

People often said that even though Iris and Wally had inherited their father’s winning smile, that Iris had inherited her bright, knowing eyes. It was one of the things, people said, that made people want to tell Iris things. And it was one of the first things Kyle had complimented her on.

Iris would message him later, but for right now she just wanted to forget about it – she’d deal with her emotions tomorrow. Sighing, she slid in her bed with her laptop, intending to do some online retail therapy – she hadn’t bought a good pair of boots in a long time, and you could never really have enough boots. In fact, she needed to make a good impression, and boots always made her feel more professional. Really, this was a necessary purchase.

She grinned as she waited, getting ready to type out the names of her favourite retailers, when the familiar compass icon started flashing on her desktop: 8 new messages, said the little speech bubble, and she swallowed. With all of the stress of moving and her not-quite-breakup with Kyle, she’d forgotten to update this blog. Not like she needed to in the last couple of months, what with the bat vigilante taking care of most of the things she usually talked about. Iris would have resented it if it weren’t for the fact that the last thing she investigated in Gotham had almost caused her to get stitches and a tetanus shot. Maybe the city was getting a little dangerous for her.  
But then…did she have to stop? She’d investigated stuff here before, hadn’t she? And okay, maybe Central City wasn’t as dangerous as Gotham was, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t be interesting. Besides, she’d had enough drama for a while.

It took her a few minutes to think of what she wanted to get across and then a couple more to psyche herself up to actually write the damn thing, but she surprised herself. Because as soon as her fingers hit the keys, the words started to flow.

_Hey, everyone,_

_Sorry I haven’t been here in a while. Things got…complicated for me, but I’m okay now. I think. Anyway, I’ve got some news for all of you – I’m no longer in Gotham. I know that’s a disappoint for some of you, but you’re still welcome to send me in tips and stories. Just, you know, I can’t actually investigate them myself. But I’m pretty sure you won’t need little old me anymore because of that bat guy. Seems like he showed up at exactly the right time, huh?_

_Where am I now, you ask? Well, I’ve actually moved to Central City, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to be here for the time being. Those of you who have been following this blog for a few years know that I started out here, so if there’s any of you left from the good old days, welcome back! Just to round off a couple of things:_

_• People of Coast City, please don’t be afraid of the incident in Ferris Airfield last week. The army knows all about it and there’s nothing to get upset about._

_• Star City’s Arrow has asked me to deliver a message – anyone who was affected by the bioweapon that was unleashed in the Glades over Christmas to report to Star City East Hospital. Any medical expenses will be taken care of. To the Star City Police Department, the one you want is in the place we found the Dark Archer. Don’t ask me what that means – the big guy isn’t known for explaining himself._

_• And to everyone who’s been messaging me about the thing you’re seeing prowling around Gotham City University Library. Stop it. There is no ‘second Catwoman’; it really is just a big cat. And I’m still shitty with all of you because that thing attacked me and now I have to find a dry cleaner that can fix rips and doesn’t think I engage violent BDSM._

_OK, I think that’s everything. I really glad to be back home, so you guys better make it worth my while and send me some really juicy stuff. I’m really looking to get into some trouble again._

_As always, believe in the impossible._  
_True North_

Iris closed the laptop down, brushed her teeth and went to bed. She didn’t need to shop, at least not right now. Because that little promise of getting up to all kinds of mischief as True North again, of somehow getting back to the person she had been, was enough to lift the weight off her heart for a little while.  
So she slept, awaiting the promise of tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that was Iris! I hoped you liked the beginning of this, I wanted to establish Iris in the middle of a pretty big change and tease some stuff about her past. Thank you for reading, liking and commenting! Next up, we meet Mr Barry Allen...


	2. The Return of the North Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Barry has a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I didn't expect to get so much love for this! Thank you to everyone who read it or left kudos or liked (or all three...)! Also, I know I said a couple of weeks, but I had fun writing this. This one if from Barry's POV, and the only thing I want you guys to know is that I'm not a scientist. So all of this science speak? I'm making it up. :P

Barry Allen was late again.

This time it was his fault, there was no mistaking that…but sometimes he felt like the universe made a special effort to make his life just that little bit worse. When he’s left for work that morning, he was maybe only five minutes late, something he could easily make up for if he walked fast enough. And with his long legs, that wouldn’t be a stretch, right? But like always, Barry Allen was served with a series of mishaps that made him feel jthe world was out to get him. First, there was the fact that the new coffee shop he went to – he truly didn’t think his old one was safe anymore – insisted on using the newbie for the morning coffee run, and then there was that group of schoolchildren who were exceptionally slow in crossing the street for their field trip (and what was Barry supposed to do? He couldn’t rush little kids), and then there was his favourite – there was a literal cat stuck up a tree. When he saw the little old lady – because it was _always_ a little old lady – yelling at Tibbles to come down, Barry rolled his eyes so far back in his head that they almost got stuck. Then, because he knew he’d never be able to live with himself, he spent twenty minutes trying to coax Tibbles out of the tree. He could have done without the smacking kiss that left orange lipstick on his face, even though it was the first kiss he’d had in a while.

So by the time he sprinted into Captain Singh’s office, his shirt rumpled and his hair full of leaves, he was twenty minutes late and about two minutes from being a memory, judging by the Captain’s face. Detectives Chyre, West and Thawne were there, along with the DA, and Barry realised with a sinking heart that he was supposed to have the forensic reports from the Sun Dial Church case in his bag. He was ninety percent sure he had it. Eighty-five. Seventy. _Shit_.

“Allen,” Singh said sharply, glaring at him. “Nice of you to join us. What was the excuse this time?”

“Um, there were these kids, and a… cat…” he trailed off at the look they were all giving him; Detective West in particular looked like he had sprouted three heads. “Sorry, sir, won’t happen again, sir.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it. DA Williams, you can continue.”

DA Cecil Williams eyed him before carrying on what Barry had interrupted when he barged into the room. “Thank you, Captain. Like I was saying, this Sun Dial situation couldn’t have come at a worse possible time – the State Department is still completing their new standards for police recruits, so I’m afraid I can’t get you anyone new for at least another month. How are you holding up?”

Captain Singh looked at all of them. “We’ve been better, but we got a crop of newbies right before they pushed the standards through. Joe?”

Detective West nodded. “Chyre and I are training the cubs best we can. They’re good learners. I mean I’ll be grateful when we get some experienced cops in here with us, but I think we’re handling it pretty well.”

“Yeah, we should be able to make some good cops out of them, maybe even a detective or two,” Chyre added. He looked at the blond, square-jawed man standing next to him. “That Patty Spivot’s pretty good, isn’t she?”

Detective Thawne nodded once. “I’d like to spend a little more time with her, but yeah I’d say there’s definitely potential there.”

DA Williams nodded, giving him a rueful smile. “Detective Thawne, I have to say that I’m sorry to see you go. You’ve been a great asset to CCPD.”

“You’re not the only one, Cecil,” Detective West said, slapping his partner on the shoulder. “Eddie here’s been my right hand man for three years; I don’t know what I’ll do without him.”

“Spivot will be a great replacement, Joe. But maybe you could try a little less threatening to shoot when she makes a mistake?”

They laughed and even though Barry joined in, he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of sadness as well. He’d only been official here for a year since he completed his police academy training and internship, and Eddie was one of the few friends he had in Central City, and pretty much the only real friend he had here at CCPD. Half of them still kind of scared him, and almost all of them treated him like a lackey.

“And what about your CSI?” the DA continued, snapping him out his reverie. Everyone turned to him expectantly. “It’s a lot to handle for one person, especially at a time like this. How are you doing, Allen?”

“Nothing I can’t handle, ma’am,” he said affably. He figured it would be better if he said as little as possible, given his entrance this morning, but he was surprised that Singh nodded in agreement.

“Yes, Mr Allen is one of the people who keeps this place running like a well-oiled machine,” Singh replied. “You know, as long as there aren’t any cats or kids or anything.”

***

And Singh rewarded Barry for this rare praise by giving him half a dozen toxicology reports to sift through by the end of the day. “And you’re not leaving until they’re done, Allen. That’s not a problem, is it?”

“No, sir,” he said, his heart sinking. “Not a problem at all.”

Except that now he’d have to work through lunch if he wanted to get to STAR Labs by five, so then he could go and see his father. But he smiled and nodded before traipsing upstairs to his lap. He liked this place, not least because it was quiet and so far up the building that people rarely bothered him, especially on a day like today when he just wanted to get through his work.

Barry had discovered early on in his life that he liked silence. Or, if he didn’t always like it, he learned how to get used to it and how to navigate it. It calmed him, and let him get on with the things that he needed to. It served him well on days like today when he had to a million and one things to do, before that in college when he had decided that getting every forensic science internship available to him had been more important than partying and girlfriends, and even before that in high school, when he realised that talking about your father who was in prison got you more broken ribs and black eyes than it did friends.

“Allen!” someone called, and he almost dropped the test tube he was holding. He looked up to see Detective West striding into the room, his jacket in his hand. Barry liked him for the most part. That didn’t mean that he wasn’t completely terrified of the vein that tended to pop in his neck whenever he was irritated. “There’s an emergency; get your gear.”

“Sir?”

“Count Vertigo made it to Central, apparently,” he said, hands in his pockets. “There was a violent confrontation over on 3rd Street, and apparently it was over a shipment of that from Star City.”

Barry swallowed, because he knew exactly who Count Vertigo was, and according to a certain green-clad friend of his from said Star City, Count Vertigo was supposed to be dead. He grabbed his stuff and scuttled after Detective West, who moved fast even for Barry’s long legs. “Uh, are you sure, Detective? Not that I’m doubting you or anything, sir,” he added hastily, at the look that everyone in the precinct knew meant someone was about to get jumped. “But…I thought Count Vertigo was supposed to be dead.”

“It looks like this one is a copycat,” the Detective answered as they left the precinct. As usual, Central City was bustling during the rush hour, and Barry had to apologise to several people he hit with his bag of forensic equipment. He saw where they were heading immediately – patrolmen were clearing curious crowds from a building, and he could see Eddie talking to a man who looked like the caretaker. Detective West turned to look at him. “Allen.”

“Sir?”

“What you’re about to see in there…I’ve heard about you. I know you were the top of your class in CSI training, I know your credentials, and I know where you trained. But I also know that you’re green and that you’ve never seen anything like this before. Just…prepare yourself, alright?”

Barry didn’t realise what Detective West meant until they had cleared the crowd and entered the building. The first thing he noticed was the metallic tang smell that saturated the area – a mixture of blood and gun residue, both of which Barry had learned to recognise during his training. More detectives and Captain Singh walked about, and Barry could see some of his colleagues bagging guns and other evidence.

Evidently, West had not been exaggerating when he said ‘violent’.

Barry counted half a dozen bodies without even looking, strewn about the floor like broken dolls. Most of them were ridden with bullet wounds, and some had their limbs twisted about at odd angles. In between some of the bodies, Barry could see empty syringes and knew that West had been right – there was a copycat around and maybe he was just as dangerous as the old Vertigo. But none of that, none of it at all, could compare to the rivers of blood that ran on the ground, a brutal dark crimson under the harsh lighting.

Barry closed his eyes and breathed through his nose, but it was too late: he wasn’t in this building anymore. Instead, he was three miles and fourteen years away, smelling the blood that stained the walls and pooled on the floor, hearing the shocked gasps and his own cries as they dragged his father away, mingled with his father’s desperate shouts back to him and, worst of all, see the blood soaking into his slippers before he’d realised what he was standing in.

“Allen?” Detective West put a hand on his shoulder, and he jumped. “If this is too much-

“No, sir, no problem at all, sir,” Barry said quickly, looking around for somewhere to set his gear. “Is it a standard blood and DNA collection?”

“Singh also wants to see if you can analyse the gunshot residue patterns,” Detective West replied quietly. “If you can find it amongst all the…”

“Blood, I know. Uh, you’re going to have to avoid this area for the time being. I’ll, uh, tell you when I’m done.”

Barry bent down and started setting up his equipment, careful not to get in the way of the photographers or let West see his face. Eventually, the older detective moved away to talk to Eddie, and Barry flexed his fingers inside his gloves. He appreciated the fact that West was worried about him not seeing that much blood in one place before, as most CSIs wouldn’t have seen something so brutal in their first year. But if there was one thing that Barry Allen had burned into his very consciousness, it was rooms that were covered in blood.

***

“You’re late.” Vera Grayson, the volunteer coordinator at STAR Labs, gave him a thoroughly bored look as Barry skidded to a stop in the staff office. “We started an hour ago.”

“I know, I had work, and there was this homicide-”

“I believe you, Barry. But you’re late, and the kids were antsy to get started. Evie is handling it.”

Barry’s heart sank as he realised what Vera was saying, and he cursed whatever had made Count Vertigo to decide to go on his mass killing spree today. He had worked through the crime scene in a trance, breathing through his nose and trying not to run out of the room to throw up. It had taken even some of the most hardened detectives a while to recover, so nobody noticed that he’d spent half an hour in his lab trying not to have a panic attack when they got back. None of that was helped by the fact that Singh still wanted those reports.

By the time Barry left the station, it was almost half past five, and even though he knew he would probably miss what sometimes ended up being the best part of his week, he ran to STAR Labs like he was being chased. He ran a hand through his hair tiredly. “Yeah. I mean, it’s fine, I guess. They’re recording the presentations, right?”

Evie gave him a sad smile, looking away from her computer. “Ronnie set up the video cameras first thing this morning. The kids were really excited, but they’re sad you weren’t there.”

“I’ll go in and see them before I leave,” Barry promised, crossing the room to put his belongings away. He searched in his bag before he found what he was looking for – a small lanyard with _Barry Allen – Volunteer_ printed underneath a picture of his face and the STAR Labs logo. He pinned it to his chest and crossed back to Vera’s desk, which was littered with papers. “Is there anything else I can do?

STAR Lab’s Community Outreach program has been described as a stroke of public relations genius by cynics and a heartfelt idea by its supporters. For people like Barry, who had been following Harrison Wells’ career for years, it was simply a way to get involved in all the goings on even though he didn’t actually work there. He came over on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays to teach kids about the science behind the Accelerator and how it would change the future of their field. Even though he would love to get involved with the science side, he secretly loved working with the kids more. There was nothing like making someone as geeked out as you, especially kids. They’d been working on presentations on how the Accelerator would explode based on recent findings, and Barry had been looking forward to it for weeks. That is, until Count Vertigo had ruined it.

Vera tapped at her computer some more and then grimaced. “Well, there’s the lesson plans for this Wednesday and Saturday. Dr Wells had made some awesome new developments with the properties of the containment unit, and the kids have been asking about that one for weeks. Think you can handle that?”

Barry had been completely on board with the idea until Vera had asked that last question. Sure, copious note-taking from one of the many people who worked in the actual science part of STAR Labs wasn’t as fun as most people would want, but Barry was a scientist and most of these people were nice. But the way Vera had asked the question caused Barry to turn back and look at her. She was concentrating on something very hard on her computer screen. “You’re kidding.”

“He’s the only one apart from Wells who fully understands it.”

“What about Cisco?”

“If Cisco and Hartley spend more than ten minutes in a room together, I’m pretty sure the Particle Accelerator will explode before it even gets turned on.”

Barry groaned. Spending time with Hartley Rathaway, one of the two structural engineers at STAR Labs and Dr Harrison Wells’ protégée, was just a little less painful than actually sticking needles in your eyes. He liked to consider himself a patient person, but within six minutes of them meeting he had been seriously considering dropping him in that containment unit himself. “And there’s nothing else?”

“I mean, you’re signed up to help with that article about the Particle Accelerator being turned on, but you don’t have to meet with the writer until Wednesday.” Vera paused, biting her lip. “Besides, Hartley likes you the most.”

“Hartley hates me the least,” Barry corrected. “And the last time he saw me he called me a boil on the unblemished surface of scientific study.”

“Right. He’s been reading Shakespeare lately; they’re getting more creative. Please, Barry?”

Barry sighed, rolling his eyes. “Sure. This day can’t get any worse, can it?”

***

He really had to learn to stop saying things like that.

“Could you repeat that, Hartley?” he asked, following him down a corridor lit with red and blue light. “That part after how you keep the containment units closed.”

“What’s the matter, Allen?” Hartley drawled, flicking him a glare over his shoulder. “Don’t actual science unless its saturated with dumb speech from second-rate forensic science TV shows?”

“No, actually,” Barry replied, not looking up from his notes, “it’s just that I couldn’t hear you because of how loud that tie is.”

Hartley didn’t reply, his jaw tensing, and Barry suppressed a grin. They were nearing the end of their tour, it was almost six thirty, and Barry was about ready to be done with Hartley fucking Rathaway. Some idiotic, optimistic part of himself always forgot that he was the definition of a douche. Then Hartley came along to remind him that he was much, much worse.

“The containment units use a mixture of tungsten and titanium to withstand the force of the energy blast that will happen as a result of the Accelerator being turned on,” he replied after several seconds, his tone distinctly frostier. “One of the other engineers came up with it – the idiot who’s always smiling.”

“You mean one of the several dozen people who work here, Rathway? I’d suggest you try it, but I seriously think that might break your face.”

They had reached Dr Wells’ office, where they spotted some people that Barry actually liked talking to. In one corner, a two dark-haired men were poring over a series of complex diagrams on a hologram, while a woman in a labcoat was making adjustments to a set of multi-coloured test tubes. As Barry walked in the shorter man turned, grinning when he saw him. “Allen, you’re here! What’s up?”

“Just doing the Lord’s work,” he said, waving his notes. “Well done on the containment unit stuff, by the way. What are you guys working on?”

“Ronnie and I finally figured out the correct density of steel guards on the rotor blades.”

“Yeah, Cisco had a ‘Eureka’ moment,” Ronnie Raymond grinned, slapping his friend on the shoulder. “It was pretty awesome.”

“Actually,” the lady in the labcoat interjected, “I think you’ll find he actually said ‘I’m gettin’ goosies!’”

“So, Caitlin,” Hartley said in a thoroughly bored tone, walking over to fiddle with her test tubes. “Does that mean that Cisco is the one in possession of the brain cell you three share today? Or did you achieve the impossible and find your own?”

“What it means, Hartley,” she replied, batting his hands away, “is that it’s possible to be brilliant and a nice person at the same time.”

“Come on, Caitlin, you know how good ‘dick’ looks on Hartley.”

“Ramon-” Hartley growled.

“You’re right,” Cisco interrupted, hands in the air. “It looks as terrible on you as everything else does.”

Barry laughed, looking at his watch and then shutting his notebook. He’d have to finish this off on Wednesday and transcribe them for a lesson on Saturday. That meant more time with Hartley, but he was really ready to end this day with a meeting with his dad. “OK, everyone, see you later. Do you want to meet for coffee Wednesday morning?”

“We can’t, remember?” Caitlin pointed out. “Becky Cooper got our coffee place in The Breakup.”

“Hey!” Cisco said indignantly, chewing on a piece of candy. “I’m not going without my coffee because Barry has terrible taste in women.”

“It’s not my fault she got all clingy just before we broke up!”

“Becky Cooper was clingy your entire relationship, Barry.” Caitlin said. “Or were you too nice to notice that all of the girls who work here were too afraid to sit with you at lunch when she visited?”

“What about you?”

“I’m engaged,” she replied, waggling her ring finger so the ring there caught the light. “And even then, I swear she thought I was about to jump your bones any time I got close.”

Barry pouted. “Well, Ronnie’s the one who introduced us. Blame him.”

“Oh, I do.”

“I hate to interrupt this riveting conversation about your long list of terrible decisions, Allen,” Hartley drawled again, studying his nails. “But we’re not done.”

“Dude, we’ll finish on Wednesday. You really think I need to know about the atom composition of the bars?”

“You will if you want to know about the energy blasts. Besides, I’m not here on Wednesday, so unless you want the kids to get behind, you’d better sit down and listen.”

Barry glared at him, fuming, as did everyone else. But he interrupted their protests and got out his notebook, because he didn’t want let the kids down, not again. He knew Hartley wouldn’t care, but then, Barry was ninety percent sure he’d sold his soul years ago.

He lasted enough half hour before Dr Wells strode in, blue eyes twinkling with his signature intelligence. “Good evening, Mr Allen. Shouldn’t you be heading home?”

“Allen needs a little help understanding the complexities of structural engineering so he can explain it to the children without looking like a chimp with a pencil,” Hartley replied, and Dr Wells raised an eyebrow at him. Ronnie coughed “Asshole” under his breath as he crossed the room to get a wrench.

“Barry’s enthusiasm and passion for shaping young minds is one of the reasons I don’t regret this program, Hartley. You’d do well to emulate such fervour.”

“I’d much rather have my intellect than- _Ow_! Raymond, you _idiot_! Have you lost your fucking mind?”

Barry stifled a laugh when he realised that Ronnie had dropped the wrench on his foot.

“Oh my God!” Caitlin said, hands flying to her mouth. “Are you okay? Honey, you’re such a klutz.”

“Here, dude, sit down,” Cisco said, grabbing Hartley and shoving him into a chair, while Caitlin geared up to inspect him. Hartley glared at all of them.

“Get away from me, I’m _fine_. Allen-”

“Barry, I think you and Hartley should call it a day,” she interrupted. “I have to check Hartley’s foot.”

“That’s ridiculous, Snow-”

“Are you a doctor?” she interrupted, giving him an icy look.

“Well, no, but-”

“You’d do well to listen to Dr Snow, Hartley,” Dr Wells said, not looking up from his papers. “I’ll see you Wednesday, Mr Allen.”

Barry could have sworn that Dr Wells winked at him before he left.

 

***

 

“You’re-”

“Late, I know, but there was this homicide, and-”

The prison guard’s face didn’t even move, which is how Barry knew he was screwed. He could hear the alarm bells clanging and started to see the visitors file out of the Iron Heights visiting room. “Come on, help me out here. I had work and – have you seen the traffic out there? It’s criminal,” he joked. The guard’s face still didn’t move. “Please, I haven’t seen my dad in weeks – can’t you let me in for just a minute?”

“Rules are rules, kid.”

“Right. Just…fine. What time are Tuesday’s hours again?”

“We’re doing renovations,” he replied flatly. “No visiting until next week.”

Barry stared at him in honest disbelief, because that was the perfect end to this day. He resisted the urge to start hitting things. “Right. Could you, uh, give a message to Henry Allen?”

“I’ll try.”

“Could you tell him his son – that’s me – is sorry? It’s just been really hard at work and stuff.”

The guard shrugged, and Barry took that as his sign to leave, fighting the tears that were trying to work their way up his throat. Walking back to his apartment – after he’d picked up a jalapeño pizza for dinner, because fuck cooking tonight – he couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so miserable. Not even Caitlin’s text – that the wrench had been Ronnie’s idea she she’d stolen Hartley’s notes for him to copy – couldn’t cheer him up. He usually did okay by himself, learning to be self-sufficient when your father was a convicted murderer and you were the freak that protested his innocence. But Caitlin had Ronnie, and Cisco had his family, and Detective West had his son and Eddie had his fiancée, and sometimes it felt like if it weren’t for his dad, he’d feel like he may as well not exist.

He kicked off his shoes and threw his coat over the chair as he entered his apartment, not bothering to get changed before he slumped in his chair and fired up Netflix. Binging _Suits_ would make this day end faster, hopefully. He opened up his email…and almost feel out of his chair.

 _Hey, everyone_ …

It had been so long – almost four months, actually – since she updated her blog, that Barry had almost forgotten what it was like to see the little red compass over the text of her smart and snarky words. The grin that spread over his face as he read her update almost made his jaw ache. He already knew about the Arrow story, since he’d been following it on the news, and the cat story made him snort with laughter because even he knew when she’d gotten that tip months ago that it was a bad idea. But then Barry saw that she was back in Central City and his heartbeat quickened.

Barry ignored it. True North had proven herself untraceable, and his own attempts (well, Cisco’s) to find her had landed him only a very irritated engineer who didn’t appreciate being Rickrolled every time he checked his email. And the only other person who could help had resolutely refused. Several times. So Barry was content to admire from afar, remaining a follower as he’d been for many years as many tried and failed to discredit her.

He found that he felt lighter. Maybe work treated him terribly and Hartley continued to be an asshole and his dad was still in jail. But if True North was back after such a long absence, ready to win belief in the impossible again, then, well…

Maybe today was not so terrible, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This got a lot longer than I thought it would. A LOT. But I hope you like it and feedback is appreciated!


	3. Move You Around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Linda and Iris go to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your comments guys - it really means a lot! Now just before I forget, I'm playing with the canon a little and I'll explain as I go along, but here's some stuff on location:  
> Central City is St Louis  
> Gotham City is Chicago  
> Metropolis City is New York  
> National City is Washington, DC  
> Keystone City is in Indiana  
> Star City is in Northern California  
> That's everything for now - when I change more canon stuff I'll let you know!

“You could have called.”

“Lin.”

“Like, I know it’s your life and you dealt with everything the best way you knew how. And you shouldn’t feel guilty about not calling.”

“Linda.”

“But I’m saying. You could have called.”

Iris lowered her bottle of beer and looked at her friend, a sad smile playing on her lips. It didn’t matter that Iris had been living in Gotham since moving there for college and Linda had moved right back to Central City after going to college in Metropolis – they could still read each other like open books. Right now, Linda was watching _Orange is the New Black_ rather than her, but Iris knew from the set of her mouth and the way she avoided her friend’s eyes that she was hurt that Iris hadn’t called to talk about her breakup with Kyle. They’d been discussing their theories about the Chicken – Linda thought it was a manifestation of their drug-addled and nutrition starved minds, Iris thought that it was real but that someone was fucking with them – when Linda had changed the subject.

They’d managed to avoid it for an impressive amount of time – like on Monday when they went for coffee and the world’s longest, loudest catch-up session ever, when Linda showed her around Central looking for things that had changed. They’d also avoided it today, when Linda had talked Iris through the interview process and then celebrated when she was offered the job, and then when they went shoe-shopping as a reward. In fact, there was a little part of Iris that hoped they could avoid it forever. But if there was one thing she knew, and had learned especially well from the failure of her relationship, it was that you couldn’t avoid your feelings forever.

Iris put her bottle down next to the empty pizza box and paused the show, and Linda finally turned to look at her. “It was…I mean, I didn’t know what to tell you, or anyone. I still don’t.”

“Start from the beginning, Irey.”

“It’s just that there _is_ no beginning,” Iris said miserably, slumping back on the well-worn sofa in Linda’s – theirs, as soon as her stuff arrived and she signed the lease – apartment. “It’s just like…Like you’re walking along with headphones in your ears, and the journey is so nice you have no idea where you’re really going, and then when you finally get there you have no idea where you are.” Iris paused, and then admitted something that she hadn’t even told her father yet. “I found a ring.”

Linda’s hands flew to her mouth. “Oh God, Iris.”

“Yeah. I was doing laundry and I wanted to steal some of his socks, since they’re so much warmer than mine, and that’s when I found it. Topaz, princess cut, just sitting in his sock drawer like it was completely harmless. When I found it I couldn’t- I couldn’t _breathe_ , I just keep seeing years of conversations about financial markets and stock options and using the word ‘summer’ as a verb and his mother who has _always_ hated me for not wanting to give up my career-”

“Iris,” Linda interrupted, hands on her friend’s shoulders. “Calm down, sweetie. Wow. God. But I thought- I mean, the last time I visited you both you seemed so happy, talking about going on holiday to Greece, and buying a house together…”

“I know, and that’s the problem. I _know_ I could be happy with him for the rest of my life. I could pretend to care about finance, even though it’s been five years and I still don’t understand it, and I could even make my peace with the five hundred children we’re expected to have. Oh,” she added at Linda’s raised eyebrows, “the Richardsons are very proud of their fertility, believe me. Do you have any idea how many conversations I’ve had about my biological clock?”

“Charming. And what about his mother? Could you make peace with her?”

“Well. She’ll be dead soon.”

Linda hit her over the head with a pillow. “Iris Ann West!”

“Linda I am known for my patience and understanding in all matters of conflict. But that woman is a _witch_ , and all her daughters-in-law say so. I don’t have a mom; the last thing I’d want is to have the one mother figure I’d have for the rest of my life hating everything about me.” Linda gave her a sad, understanding smile, and Iris continued. “But none of that would be _enough_ , you know? I just realised that I was waiting for something more exciting to come along, but I didn’t realise it until the opportunity was going.”

“So he didn’t propose?”

“He didn’t get a chance to,” Iris laughed bitterly, self-loathing coating her words. “I broke up with him, remember?”

“When, exactly?”

Iris bit her lip and suddenly became very interested in her toenails. “A month ago.”

“A _month_ \- I take it back; you should _totally_ feel guilty for not calling!” Linda burst out. “Jesus, Iris, a month? How did you deal with that all by yourself? What, you just lived together and never spoke?”

“He had to go on a business trip to Shanghai,” she replied guiltily. “He didn’t want to see me after…after it happened, so he just extended the trip. I stayed there for a while to give notice and wrap some things up and get my car shipped, and then I came back home. He should be back there any day now, actually.” She smiled through the tears that had started to pool in her eyes; that story had taken much more out of her than she thought it would. “Still got any sympathy left for me?”

Linda rolled her eyes and pulled her best friend into a hug, not even minding that Iris was dissolving into quiet sobs that shook her small body. “I just keep thinking about the look on his face,” she said. “Like I’d ripped his heart out and fed it to a pack of wolves. But I just knew – I _knew_ – that if we got married I’d regret it later, and if I fucked up his life when we were married I’d never forgive myself, and he never would either.”

“Plus his mother would probably cook you up in her cauldron and serve you to the rest of her in-laws as a warning,” Linda added, and they both laughed despite everything.

“Do you think I did the right thing, Lin?”

“I think you did what you could to make sure none of you would get hurt later, honestly. As someone with first-hand experience of being the kid of people who really, _really_ shouldn’t have married each other, I can’t say what you did was wrong, even if he was as perfect as everyone kept saying.”

Iris grinned up at her. “Well, I can’t exactly be mad at your parents for giving me my Lin-Lin, and – Wait, who’s calling him perfect?”

“Wally,” Linda shrugged. “He calls him the Perfect, Pretty, Pin-Up Prince.”

“Oh my God, that boy.”

“He’s very proud of that one, actually.”

Iris sat up. “I swear, if he’s been bothering you while I’ve been gone…”

“Relax, _ladybird_ ,” she teased. “Your brother is harmless. Kind of an asshole, but a cute one, and harmless. Anyway, stop trying to change the subject; we’re talking about you. Are you done with him? Like, for real?”

Iris thought about it a long time before answering. That month, where she’d wandered around her and Kyle’s shared apartment packing up what was left of her life in Gotham, had felt like she was at the closing chapter of a very long book. She has grieved and was grieving for that relationship, but she had no desire to go back. Not just because she was fairly certain Kyle would never want to see her again, but because despite how much she missed that safety now, she was right. Kyle was not enough for her and, eventually, he would have realised that she was not enough for him either, and the last thing she wanted to do was send someone as sweet as him on a path of resentment.

“For real,” Iris answered, grabbing her beer again. “I don’t think I’m ready for anything new just yet, but I’m just so sick of being miserable, you know?”

“You need a rebound,” Linda said knowingly, grabbing her beer back off the table. “Just a really, really good fuck.” She paused. “And some work.”

“Well, thanks for helping me out with the second one,” Iris said. The interview had gone over brilliantly, especially when the interviewer had remembered that this was Iris West, the second-youngest person to ever win a Pulitzer Prize ( _damn_ that Lois Lane) and had fallen over himself to get to know her better. Throw in a few comments that she had already begun to pick up leads for some story ideas, and the job was hers.

The only problem with being True North, Iris had realised back in her freshman year of college, was that she had to pick and choose which of her stories were newsworthy or blog worthy. They tended to be pretty clear-cut – because proving that a businesswoman was siphoning millions off the charity she was supposed to be in charge of was a hell of a lot easier than proving the existence of a man who could talk to fish – but as someone who sought out the truth, it was frustrating. Frustrating because she desperately wanted the people in her city – whether it was Gotham City or Central City or Star City, where she’d had her first real internship at the _Star Song_ – to believe in things that couldn’t just be explained by science. That sometimes, you had to take things purely on faith. But that couldn’t happen, not in this world. So while True North had to be the outlier, the impassioned blogger who believed in men made of steel and benevolent aliens and yellow balls of lightning, Iris West had to be the hard-hitting journalist who could back up all of her claims with something more concrete than her own eyes when she said she’d seen a cat woman leap off a building.

“No problem,” Linda said. “It’ll be nice to have someone else to have fun with at the paper, even if I’ll be working in sports.”

“Yeah, about that…Are you _sure_ you can’t take me with you to the Diamonds game next week? I know lots of things about sports, I swear.”

“Sure, Iris. How do you score in baseball, huh?”

Iris elbowed her. “You know I hate baseball.”

“Because it’s the only sport that Beck-”

“Do not tarnish my apartment with that name,” Iris interrupted, slapping a hand over Linda’s mouth.

“Anyway,” her friend continued, shoving Iris’ hand away, “you can’t come with me because not only am I working on something super-duper top secret, but Mason already has an assignment ready for you.”

“Right. Um, remind me of what I’m getting into with this again?”

“Oh, you mean the seventh circle of hell?” her friend laughed, rooting around the pizza boxes for another slice. “Complete with Mason Bridge, the First Horseman of the Apocalypse?”

“That’s exactly what I was hoping for.”

“OK, maybe just the fourth circle and maybe Mason is just an asshole. You’re replacing Lee, the old features editor, so you’ll be covering anything major that Mason wants. Mason, big shot editor in chief that he is, gets to hand out all the assignments that he doesn’t want, even senior editors like you and me.” She paused and Iris wrinkled her nose in mock disgust at the tomato sauce all over her friend’s lips. Licking it off, Linda continued. “CCPN is a little smaller than the Gotham Gazette though, so it’s not like you’ll be drowning in work, and there’ll be a few junior writers who are there to pick up the slack.”

“Please,” Iris held up a hand, “don’t even worry about it. Let me drown in the work. It’s either that or a good fuck, right?”

***

Iris tried not to let the weather dictate her mood as she and Linda hurried inside the Central City Picture News building. They had made a quick coffee run to the coffee place where Wally worked – and Iris tried to muster up a glare scary enough to stop her brother from flirting with Linda while he fixed her Americano with an extra shot – and had barely made it to the office before the heavens opened and it had started raining. Iris hoped that it wouldn’t foreshadow her day.

“This is your desk,” Linda said, showing her to an empty workstation by the far wall. “And over there where we have meetings, and this is- Mason! How are you doing, chief?”

Iris turned to see a dark-haired, middle-aged man dressed in smart pants and a shirt with no tie. She was happy that he couldn’t read minds, because he was the closest human approximation of the grumpy cat meme that she had ever seen.

“Park,” he said gruffly. He glared at her, bushy eyebrows coming down over hard brown eyes. “If you must know, the heads of department voted for a mandatory morning meeting over coffee to talk about ‘ways to improve the employee experience’.”

“Well, that sounds like a good idea.”

“I hate it. I may get rid of it.”

“What, the meetings?”

“No, democracy.”

Iris burst out laughing and Mason gave her an odd look. “Who’s this?”

“This is Iris West,” Linda replied, putting an arm around her. “You know, the reporter I was telling you about? From the Gotham Gazette?”

Mason narrowed his eyes at her. “Right, West, the new hire. You’re the one who wrote that expose about stalking on university campuses last year. It was…passable.”

Iris swallowed. That was the story that won her the Pulitzer Prize, but Mason was looking at her like she’d submitted the Freebie Five list she shared with Kyle. She stuck her hand out for him to shake, and he took it. “Looking forward to working with you, sir.”

“Of course you are. Alright, Park, Sweeting is looking for you about that article for the Diamonds. West, come with me.”

Linda gave her a friendly nudge before she slunk off in the direction of the raised platform at the other end of the room. Iris followed Mason as he walked, thankful that at least she had worn the boots that were easy to walk quickly in because, award-winning journalist or not, it didn’t change the fact that everyone was _so much taller_ than she was.

“Have you heard,” he asked, rounding his desk and sitting down, “of Dr Harrison Wells?”

“Not that I can recall,” she replied. “He doesn’t sound like any of the political figures in Central…”

“Not specifically, but he may as well be. He’s the man behind the Particle Accelerator – that building on the south side that looks like a spaceship, and I want you to write about it.” At Iris’ quizzical look – she didn’t usually do science and technology, after all – Mason sighed. “This is one of the biggest events of the year, West. Harrison Wells is going to revolutionise the world, because his Particle Accelerator will tell us everything we have ever known and ever will know about science. There’s tons to cover, from the fact that he’s generated hundreds of jobs for Central City’s economy to the community outreach program that he started a few months ago to get all the cute little kids involved with science. But,” he added, handing her a piece of paper, “there’s also the fact that several prominent scientific figures have declared their unequivocal disapproval of the project, and all the protests to get people not to turn it on.”

Iris raised her eyebrows. “That’s a good story. Can I get started right away?” She already had about a million ideas on where she could take this story – it was human interest, it was community news, there could be a political angle in here too if she looked hard enough… Mason shrugged.

“You can get started right now,” he replied. “We’ve arranged with STAR Labs to send over one of their volunteers to help you with background and stuff, since I’ll be honest, all this bullshit about metal density and energy rays may as well be in Dothraki to me.”

“Oh, okay,” Iris replied. “And when are they getting here?”

Mason frowned and glanced at his watch. “Twenty minutes ago, actually. If this is the impression they want to make, then I don’t see things going well for-”

Mason never got to finish his sentence, because that was the moment someone entered – no, _crashed_ into the building, dripping wet and wrestling with an umbrella. Iris looked up to see a tall, skinny guy who had managed to get wet despite the fact that the umbrella he was holding was almost as big as he was.

“Hi,” he said to the general room, most of which had stopped to stare at him. “Sorry I’m late.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was very short so you'll probably get the next one by the end of the week - I'm back at uni now so I'm writing around work. Also, if anyone is curious about the title, it's literally just the song I had on repeat while writing this - it's called 'Move You' by Anya Marina. Thanks for reading!


	4. Barry Allen and the Amazing Demonic Umbrella

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Barry and Iris get to know each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of your kind words, you have no idea how much all your feedback means to me. I have more stuff to say at the end, and I hope you like this chapter!

Barry, Caitlin and Ronnie all looked at Cisco as he studied the building, a liquorice whip hanging out of his mouth. Finally, he shrugged. “It’ll do, I guess.”

“Yes!” Ronnie exclaimed. “Jitter’s it is. OK, I’m about to spend ten hours with Hartley in a very confined space, so I’m going to need lots of caffeine.”

Caitlin followed her fiancé inside and Barry regarded Cisco, who was studying the building with his arms folded. “All I’m saying is, the cookies better be good. I have a very refined sweet tooth that has taken me years to craft. People come to me from far and wide to ask my opinion on many a sweet snack. If I end up suffering because of your inability to be in a relationship-”

“You’re not going to suffer,” Barry interrupted with a grin, trying not to show how much that comment got to him because Cisco didn’t realise how true his words were. Thankfully, his friend didn’t notice anything different, and shrugged before going inside. Jitters was already much brighter than their old coffee place; Barry was glad that he’d suggested it to them. He walked over to the counter to get their coffee order, grateful that he recognised the person serving the coffee – and that it wasn’t the guy who had made him late at the beginning of the week.

“CSI the Dork!” Wally West grinned, putting down the mug he’d been wiping and bracing his arms on the table. “Finally decided to come to Jitters? What happened to your old coffee place?”

“I can’t go there anymore, although a part of me wants to go back there because they actually call me Barry.”

“Sorry, dude. ‘CSI the Dork’ is one of my best – it perfectly captures what it means to be you. Plus, it’s a pun.”

Barry rolled his eyes. He’d met Wally on three occasions, and each time he came up with a ridiculous nickname for him. ‘CSI the Dork’, however, seemed to be his favourite. “Right. Anyway, what are you so happy about?”

“You’d be happy too if you’d started your day talking to the love of your life,” Wally replied, tilting his head towards the door at the other end of the room. Barry turned just in time to see two dark-haired women striding out of view, but didn’t catch their faces. He sighed.

“Yeah, I guess that’d be nice. How long have you two been together?”

“Oh, she doesn’t know she’s the love of my life yet. But don’t worry, it’ll happen. Anyway, what can I get you?”

Barry meandered over to his friends after Wally had taken the coffee order and thrown in one of the coffees for free if he got to call Barry by that nickname five more times that week. When he sat down, Cisco and Ronnie were in the middle of an argument.

“Your hypothesis is based purely on conjecture,” Ronnie said dismissively, and Cisco glared at him.

“Not conjecture, my friend, cold hard facts. Or do you just not want to see them because _your_ hypothesis is a flaming pile of shit?”

“How do you figure that?”

“Well, for starters, your sample size is laughable and your criteria for the test subjects is too narrow. Not to mention that your method of collection is nothing short of ridiculous. To be quite honest, I’m ashamed that we share the same title.”

“Don’t get upset with me because your test subjects are-”

“Whoa!” Barry interrupted, sitting down. “Guys, I’m sure Dr Wells can help you figure out what’s up with the containers for the fuel cells.”

At their confused look, Barry raised his eyebrows. “That’s…not what you were arguing about?”

“No,” Caitlin answered smartly, looking up from her medical journal. “Cisco thinks that the special effects in The Walking Dead are better than those in Game of Thrones. Ronnie, as I’m sure you can hear, disagrees with him.”

“Have you _seen_ the White Walkers?”

Barry rolled his eyes, glancing at his watch. He didn’t have to be at Central City Picture news for another twenty minutes, and Dr Wells let everyone come in a little later on Wednesdays. So, ignoring the pointed look at Caitlin gives him from behind her journal, Barry joined in the argument. Even though Barry was used to being alone, that didn’t mean he wasn’t grateful for the company of his friends. To tell the truth, they were some of the only people he had in Central City, especially when his father was Henry Allen, the man who had murdered his wife fourteen years ago. He was used to being the friend who doesn’t talk about their family that much, who didn’t have holiday traditions that don’t include eating flavourless turkey with dozens of prison guards watching. It’s why he was grateful that he had started working as a volunteer at STAR Labs after the failed launch of the Particle Accelerator a few months ago, where he met Cisco and Caitlin and Ronnie (and Hartley, unfortunately), and he could swear that he had never laughed so much in his life until he met them. It’s why he loved working at CCPD, because Eddie would always invite him to go sparring or for runs even when he was being moody about his father, and only rarely laughed at him because he was a CSI and couldn't throw a punch to save his life.

There were some boundaries he couldn’t bring himself to cross, though. As far as he could tell, nobody could tell that his father was Henry Allen – it was a common enough surname and Barry had told them that he was an orphan and that his closest relatives lived in National City. That part wasn’t completely a lie – the second-cousin who had begrudgingly taken Barry in when his father was imprisoned _did_ live in National City, but he’d just rather eat coal than see those people again. Henry Allen was rarely in the papers, so apart from that vicious period in high school, full of blood and bruises and a boy broken almost beyond repair, it seemed that no one really knew or cared that Barry Allen was the son of a murderer.

When they found out that Barry believed his father was innocent – that was when the problems started. When the acquaintances stopped short of being friends, when the classmates stopped working on projects with him, and when the girlfriends stopped finding him so cute. But it was something he was used to.

“OK, that’s it!” Caitlin said in exasperation, slapping down her journal. “Barry and Cisco, yes, the special effects for the zombie apocalypse are impressive.”

“See?” Cisco said triumphantly.

“And Ronnie, everyone knows that those dragons are some of the best CGI to ever come out of television.”

“Ha!”

“But if the three of you don’t _shut up_ ,” she continued, her voice dropping an octave, “so help me god, I’m going to give you all lobotomies. Is that understood?” They all nodded and she smiled sweetly, going back to her journal. “So, Barry, are you looking forward to your big reporter gig?”

Barry shrugged., stirring his coffee. “I guess. I mean, I’m still not sure why Dr Wells nominated me, when he could have sent you, or Cisco, Ronnie, or Hartley-”

Cisco snorted into his mug. “You mean Dr Dickenstein? Sure, if Dr Wells wants Central City to think that the particle accelerator is going to increase the level of douchebaggery in the atmosphere.”

“Besides, everyone who actually works at STAR labs already has their hands full, what with it going live in a month,” Caitlin added. “You’re doing Dr Wells a huge favour. Actually, shouldn’t you be heading over there now?”

“Not yet. I have to be there at ten, it’s only a quarter to.”

Cisco frowned at him. “Dude, no it’s not.” He points at his Big Bang Theory watch. “It’s ten fifteen.”

Barry shoots up. “What? It can’t be.”

Caitlin grabs his wrist and then looks at hers. “He’s right, Barry. Your watch stopped.”

Ronnie shakes his head. “You gotta go digital, man.”

“Oh, _crap_ ,” Barry muttered, gathering up his stuff. “Can I get this to go, please?” he says to the barista. This was just perfect. His one chance to do something awesome for his hero, and he was about to fuck it up. It was times like this he wished he had super speed.

***

 

The good news was that Barry had remembered to pack his umbrella, because it started raining almost as soon as he left Jitters. The bad news was that the umbrella was nothing against the torrential downpour that was currently enveloping Central City. The worst part, though, was the fact that the street was congested with wall to wall traffic. By the time he got to the sleek, redbrick building that was Central City Picture News, he was fairly certain he looked like a drowned rat.

Once he managed to get inside the door he had to start wrestling with the umbrella, and only realised that everyone in the room, from the people at the coffee table on the raised platform to the people at their desks, had gone deathly quiet. He looked up and swallowed. “Hi,” he said uncertainly, the umbrella clutched in both hands midway through being closed. “Sorry I’m late.”

Then a petite, dark-haired woman strode up to him, her pretty brown eyes curious. “Um,” she said, looking him up and down, “are you from STAR Labs?”

“Yes,” he smiled in relief; at least he didn’t have to go up to all these scary-looking people, especially the one with the bushy eyebrows and the grumpy cat face. “That’s me. Barry Allen.”

The woman tilted her head and held out a hand to him. “Iris-”

But in reaching out to shake her hand, Barry let go of the umbrella, which sprang free and sprayed Iris with rainwater. Barry blushed furiously as people started sniggering even as they turned back to their work, their rainy morning at least made more entertaining by the man with the Amazing Demonic Umbrella. “Oh, crap,” he breathed, trying to get the umbrella back under control. “Iris, I am _so_ sorry…”

Without any warning, Iris reached out and expertly snapped the umbrella back into place, handing it back to him, before brushing the water droplets off her sleeves. “Thanks. Um, sorry again.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she shrugged, flashing him a smile, and Barry just stared at her. _Holy shit, she’s gorgeous_. She was slim but very curvy – the blue dress that hugged her figure in all the right places was working for her, and it was _definitely_ working for him. Working for him to the point of distraction, apparently. Then Iris cleared her throat.

“Um, Barry? Are you okay?”

“Yes!” he said a little loudly, shaking his head slightly. “Sorry.”

She folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. “You’ve apologised to me more in the last ninety seconds than anyone has in the past month.”

“Sor-” Iris smirked at him and he laughed, rubbing the back of his head. “Right. Well, I’m late, and I probably shouldn’t waste any more of your time. Where should we…?”

“Chair is fine,” she said, leading him to a chair on one side of a desk; she sat on the other side as he took off his bag and put it on the floor. “Um, you look like you’re freezing, do you want something to warm up? Like a coffee, or…”

“No, I have coffee, right…Oh.” Barry looked down and realised he’d probably put down the coffee somewhere between here and Jitters. “I guess I lost it. But I can get it, don’t worry…” Both he and Iris looked at him as he stood up, dripping water from his shoes, and Barry tilted his head to the side. “Maybe I should just stay here.”

Iris giggled. “I think that might be a good idea. How do you take it?”

“One milk, two sugars. Thank you.” As Iris walked off to get him the coffee, Barry took off his coat and tentatively hung it on the hook, doing his best to ignore the fact that it was dripping all over the floor. Then he eyed the umbrella suspiciously. _Traitor_.

“How,” Iris said, striding back to hand him the coffee, “are you still wet with an umbrella in your hand, Barry Allen?”

He sighed. “It’s not a very good umbrella.”

“I can’t say I’m fond of it myself.”

Barry laughed and she smiled at him again, and he looked away before he ended up staring at her with his mouth hanging open again. “So, um, should we start?”

“Sure,” she said, tapping at her computer. “Let me just get up a word document up so it looks like I’m taking copious amounts of notes on everything you’re saying so my new boss doesn’t fire me on my first day.”

“Which one’s your boss?”

“The one with the grumpy cat face.”

“That’s what I thought!” he exclaimed, and everyone looked up. Iris looked at him, smiling again. “Barry.”

“Oh, um-”

“Sorry?”

“I mean, I hate cats. Kittens, sure, but full-grown, big-clawed, I’m-stuck-in-a-tree-but-I’ll-scratch-your-ass-off-if-you-come-near-me-to-help cats? No way.”

“Tell me about it,” Iris replied with feeling. She looked at him and crossed her legs. “OK, Barry Allen. Tell me all there is to know about STAR Labs.”

***

Oh God.

 _Oh God_.

Iris shouldn’t have been staring. She should have been paying attention and making notes. But she wasn’t, because she was staring, and she was starting not to care.

Because she’d never seen anything more adorable than Barry freaking Allen.

Literally, from the moment he’d crashed into CCPN with that umbrella and adorably confused and bashful look on his face, she’d wanted nothing more than to hug him for no other reason that he looked so goddamn huggable. He was cute, too, with thick brown hair and pretty green eyes under very long lashes, and a slim build that made his six feet very attractive.

 _Barry Allen_. That was what he’d said right before he and his umbrella had sprayed her with rainwater and he’d started that thing where he couldn’t stop apologising for everything that happened (of course, it didn’t help that most of it was his fault, but he was so sweet Iris couldn’t be mad at him). She couldn’t explain it, but the name was somehow familiar to her – it was dancing on the edges of her memory when that umbrella had attacked her when she’d tried to shake his hand.

Iris put it out of her mind as she watched him. She definitely would have remembered someone like Barry. Especially because right now he looked more like a child explaining the science behind his favourite superhero show. She adjusted the tape recorder (Barry talked _way_ too fast for her to type everything he said so she’d given up about twenty minutes ago; besides, now she could stare at him unbothered) and cleared her throat.

“Barry,” she said, interrupting him mid-speech. He looked at her and his face faltered. “Oh. Was I going too fast again?”

“Not exactly,” she replied. “Just, um…I’m trying to explain it to a bunch of people who _maybe_ don’t have double majors in Physics and Chemistry, so could you take things more step-by-step?”

“Sure. Which part?”

“How about its uses? I mean, I’m sure I can write about the construction side of things, but what about what it’s going to do?”

Barry grinned at her, and Iris resisted the urge to grin right back. Honestly, nobody had the right to be this cute. He grabbed a piece of paper and a pen off her desk – the only things she had besides her computer, since she didn’t have any pictures of Wally or her father here yet – and drew a small dot in the middle. “You see this dot?”

“I do.”

“This dot is everything we know about everything in the universe _right now_. But with the Particle Accelerator…” Barry drew a big circle around the dot. “ _This_ is what we can find out. Particle Accelerators have been built before, Dr Wells’ creation has a lot of capabilities, from the testing of many unproven hypotheses about particle physics to aid in oncological research and development.”

“…So you guys are going to test theories like Higgs boson and try to cure cancer?”

Barry looked pleasantly surprised. “You know about Higgs boson?”

Iris smiled. “My brother went to Notre Dame for engineering and did his senior project on it, actually. Even in all the way in Keystone, he made sure to tell me about it.”

“That’s pretty cool, actually, if you- _Shit_!” Barry cursed as he looked at his watch. “Sorry, just, I should have been at work twenty minutes ago, and my boss will kill me-”

“Don’t worry about it,” Iris said again, trying not to giggle as Barry scrambled to gather up his things. “Here, let me give you my number…Is Friday alright to meet again?”

“Friday is perfect. Have you seen my-”

Iris reached under her desk and handed him his umbrella. “Oh,” Barry said, turning towards the door. “It stopped raining.”

She returned his smile. “Yeah, I guess it did.”

***

“…more patrolmen on the scene before it becomes a warzone! And where the hell is-”

“Here!” Barry skidded to a stop in front of Captain Singh, who was standing in the middle of the atrium with Detective West and Detective Thawne. “I’m here, sir. What do you need?”

“It seems there was a disturbance at a gun store on Third a few minutes ago. Apparently a group of assailants stole over a dozen rifles this morning. We’re gonna need you to go down there and take some prints.”

As they were walking to the scene of the crime, Barry fished in his bag for the hastily-scrawled number that Iris had given him before he’d run out of CCPN, staring at the neat loops of her writing: _Iris_. He grinned. She was probably the first person who wasn’t a scientist to actually take a genuine interest in what he was talking about, even if she did have to write about it for her job. And alright, maybe that was why she asked so many questions, but that didn’t mean she had to be so nice about it. That didn’t mean she had to sit there, head tilted on one hand, looking at him like he was the most intelligent person she’d ever met. Barry couldn’t remember the last time someone had ever looked at him like that – he wasn’t sure if anyone ever had.

To be quite honest, after the debacle that had been Becky Cooper and his disastrous overall track record with girlfriends, Barry wasn’t really looking for anyone right now. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to enjoy spending time with Iris. Maybe this whole thing wouldn’t be so bad – if he could remember to be on time, anyway.

“Hey, Allen!” Detective West called. “What d’you got there?”

“Nothing.” Barry very carefully folded up the piece of paper with Iris’ name and number and put it away, before hurrying to catch up. “Be right there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was really nervous about their first meeting because I could tell how much everyone was waiting for it - I hope you all like it! The next chapter will likely be up in the next couple of days and it's looking to be quite short, because the next few chapters after that require some planning and a little more thought. Speaking of, this fic started out very short but in planning and writing it's been getting longer...do people like the direction it's going in? I know it's early, but I want to know whether it will be worth going with a big story. Let me know what you think in the comments (which I will be replying to from now on, since you're all lovely enough to leave them and I kind of feel terrible about not doing that sooner, so I can answer questions too)!


	5. Multiple Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Iris gets her sneak on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who said they like the direction the story is going in - I now have your permission to make it long and complicated. Which means that in the next few chapters, a LOT of familiar faces will turn up!

Iris West was a good liar.

She didn’t know if she’d always been one or if she’d picked it up later on. Maybe it was something she learned from trying to avoid telling her father the detective things – which didn’t always work, the man was _too damn good_ – or maybe it was from the fact that the first two years of her college life she was a criminal psychologist major. Or maybe it was all the murder mysteries she devoured and still devoured. It helped her, being a good liar, especially when she did what she did and had the kind of face that people would automatically trust. It meant that people answered her questions, whether they were for her articles or for her blog, why people thought that the injuries she got were from self-defence classes that she never seemed to get any better at, and why her college roommates had never suspected that the jewellery box that she said came from her grandmother actually had brass knuckles, mace and a stun gun in it. It was probably, she was starting to realise, how she had managed to convince herself that she was happy with Kyle, even though she was starting to realise she hadn’t been happy with him in a long time.

Iris West was a good liar.

But she’d never been able to lie to Linda Park.

Linda didn’t even look up from her computer when Iris walked into the living room wearing black gloves and carrying a small leather backpack. “What are the rules?”

Iris rolled her eyes. “I know the rules.”

“I know you know the rules, West. Tell me the rules.”

“Rule number one: stay safe.”

“Mm.”

“Rule number two: I call every hour on the hour with my location and my state of being.”

“Go on.”

“Addendum to rule two: if I don’t call, you’ll call me three times at five minute intervals. If I do not call or text back within five minutes, you are at liberty to call my father.”

“Damn straight. And the last one?”

Iris gave her a shy smile. “Go out and get me a kickass story, West.” Linda grinned at her.

“Okay, True North, you’ve got it.”

Linda was one of a handful of people who knew what Iris did when she was ‘investigating’. None of those people were her brother or her father, because they’d kill her, before resurrecting her and then chaining her to the house for the rest of her life. Linda had been there from the very first tip when she was sixteen – a ball of red lightning streaking across the city – to now, when someone had reported that there was a man who could replicate himself running around by an abandoned warehouse by the docks. She had tried and failed to talk her friend out of it numerous times, but if there was one thing that Iris West was, it was stubborn. Linda was assured by the fact that Iris never did anything illegal or get involved in anything _too_ dangerous – she was only five foot four, after all – and that it had been almost ten years and her best friend was still alive. Fine, maybe she’d been in some scrapes before, and she would never forget the summer when Iris came home to visit and she had cried for three days straight, but Linda had come to realise that Iris was extremely resourceful.

So resourceful, in fact, that the binoculars and motion-sensitive camera she had weren’t really available to the general public…or most of the rest of the US, really. Iris strode along the moonlit Central City streets as she made her way towards the docks. Linda and Iris lived down on south side so she was already in that area, and even from here she could see the gleaming dome of STAR Labs and the Particle Accelerator nestling between the buildings. She hadn’t started on her research on the people who didn’t want it turned on – for the second time, because she remembered that Barry told her that it turned on last Christmas but failed and everyone had to regroup – but she couldn’t see anything wrong with it yet. Her initial interview with Barry hadn’t even scratched the surface of what the Particle Accelerator could mean to Central City – its politics, its jobs, the community, and its potential to be put on the map for scientific discovery. Iris was thinking of making the article a four-part feature, and she was lucky that Mason had given her enough time to publish the article, because on Friday she’d be meeting her interns to help them with their own articles.

Iris had decided that she liked being back in Central City. She and Wally and her father had moved here from Coast City just after Iris had turned twelve – her father had gotten a promotion because something had happened to a police officer investigating a murder case. She had known that case like the back of her hand once upon a time, but that was so long ago that she didn’t even remember any of their names. Even though she’d moved away to Gotham for college and spent that autumn in Star City investigating something, there was always a feeling in her that was telling her she was not quite done with Central City, something always pulling her back. And now despite the circumstances, she was especially glad to be back, both as Iris West and True North, because there was _definitely_ something happening in Central City.

Iris had always known that she lived in a world where the impossible happened all the time – it was just that not everyone wanted to believe in it. There were still people that doubted the feasibility of Superman, despite the fact that Lois Lane had been writing about the guy for years. She liked to believe that she was the blogosphere’s own little Lois Lane, both because of her lifelong obsession with the woman and because, at the tender age of sixteen, she hadn’t been brave enough to put her name on her blog. People loved Central City – it was bright, happy, fun. It was also a magnet for strange activity. Before she’d left for college Iris had written about Tricksters and men who called themselves ‘Boomerang’; in Gotham it had been Catwomen and Scarecrows; in Star City…well, she’d only written about one thing in Star City. But even though it had only been a few days since she’d gotten back, now it was reports of men who could turn themselves into mist, who could replicate themselves, and Iris was going to figure out what the hell was going on if it was the last thing she did.

That was how she found herself sitting on the roof of the old abandoned warehouse, her camera trained on the streets by the dock, and chewing on a granola bar. She wasn’t entirely sure how much she would get from this tip, especially since they were so vague in the posting, but it did feel good to get her sneak on again. That bat vigilante or whatever he called himself had made things far too quiet in Gotham in the months before she left. Besides which, how exactly was she supposed to stalk a man who could duplicate himself, unless he literally walked around with his duplicate posse on show? No, she probably wasn’t going to discover anything big tonight so, camera trained on the streets below for any strange activity, she used the opportunity to do what she’d been avoiding since she came back home – to think.

Her belongings had arrived at her father’s house that day, and she had paid the movers extra to drive it to her and Linda’s apartment and lug all of her stuff upstairs. She thought of how she had stared at it all and realised that this was it, that her life in Gotham was over, and that was when he called. It hurt to hear his voice, which surprised her, but she had lived with the guy since she was twenty-three, and she wondered whether it would ever really go away. He wasn’t her first boyfriend, but he had been her first big relationship.

“So, my stuff came today,” she said quietly by way of saying hello. “Thanks for taking care of it.”

She could hear his amused sigh even from three hundred miles away. “Of course, Iris. How’s your dad? And Wally? Is she still working on that…thing that he was working on?”

Iris laughed; nobody ever understood what Wally was talking about when he started on about engineering. “Dad’s fine, still working like hell, no matter what I tell him. And Wally is still talking about generators and carburettors every time I go see him, so I’m guessing everything’s going great for him. I can’t wait till he graduates and he gets a job so I can kind of understand what he does all day.”

“I’d love to see that day. So, why are you calling me in the middle of the night? Wait, don’t tell me, you’ve already found trouble in Central?”

“Something like that.”

“If I know you at all, you’re probably sitting in a window somewhere with a tape recorder ready to expose the Bruce Wayne of Central City.”

She smiled and looked down at the camera trained on the street. “Close: video camera.”

“That’s my…That sounds like you.”

Iris knew they were both going to ignore his slip and she took the plunge first. “So, what about you? Did the New York Stock Exchange crash again? Are there thirty of you running around screaming about options and bonds and tearing out your hair?”

Kyle laughed, a deep, throaty laugh that was achingly familiar to her. “No, we’re still good for another few years hopefully. Ah… my mother is throwing one of her parties for the Children’s Benefit, and you know how late they run…”

“Penelope always threw the best parties,” she said ruefully. “Remember the time your brother shot at the chandelier in the lobby with a BB gun?”

“I remember my mother grounding him in front of his wife over it.”

“Like it wasn’t your fault – you spiked his drink with tequila.”

“That was your idea,” he reminded her.

“I didn’t think you’d actually do it!” she shot back.

They laughed together at the shared memory, and then seemed to remember at the same time that there would be no more of those memories. “I’d say to tell her hello, but considering…”

“Yeah, I’m not so sure that’s the best idea.” They both paused and Kyle knew her well enough to know what she was thinking. “My mother doesn’t hate you, Iris.”

“Well if she didn’t before, she sure does now. And what about the time with the-”

“OK, she did forget that you’re allergic to raspberries, but that was an accident.”

“I told her three times! I had to go to the emergency room, Kyle.”

He sighed. “Yeah, well. I guess we don’t have to worry about that anymore, do we?”

Iris bit her lip. “I guess not.” She paused. “I’m sorry, Kyle.”

“Me too, Iris. Take care.”

“Take care.”

Iris stared at the phone for a full two minutes before she put it back in her pocket. She tipped her head back to the moon, letting its light bathe her face. It didn’t matter what Kyle had almost said – she was not his, not anymore, and she had to stop pretending that she was. She had to stop letting her guilt drive her every action and live her life instead, because they’d been living parallel lives instead of living their lives together. Even though Kyle knew that she went out investigating things with a little more vigour than other people did, he didn’t know that she was True North, despite the fact that they’d been together since the end of college. She’d mentioned it to him once and he’d been more dismissive than she would have liked, even though he did credit the anonymous blogger with the tips she’d given to the police and the criminals she’d helped expose. But after that, she’d just decided it was easier not telling him instead of risking the look of disapproval that would come over his features if he didn’t approve. Which, if she was honest, was just another way of saying that she was too afraid to really open herself to him.

She shook her head. Brooding about it wasn’t going to get her anywhere, so she concentrated on the task at hand. She’d gotten a lot of ecstatic replies about being back in Central City even some from people who had been here before she left years ago.  All of her tips were anonymous – if they weren’t allowed to know who she was, she wasn’t going to find out who they were either – and she hadn’t been here in years, so she couldn’t tell whether this person was sending in a good tip or they were just wasting her time. It had happened enough times over the years that she was able to recognise the good from the bad in most cases. She’d had a couple of other tips, but this one seemed the most interesting. So much for that. Maybe Papa John’s was still-

“Shit,” Iris cursed under her breath as the motion-sensitive camera vibrated in her hands, telling her that it had come to life. She looked to where the camera had silently swivelled and saw a black-clad figure striding purposefully perpendicular to the chained boats that floated serenely on the moonlit dock. Then she stifled a gasp as the figure stopped, looking around. Iris crouched down, shrinking back into the shadows, and concentrated instead on the little square video feed in the back of the camera. She had the foresight to change from ‘auto capture’ to ‘record’ before it happened.

Iris watched as the figure started to vibrate, his figure blurry around the edges. Then, before her very eyes, an identical figure seemed to emerge from his body. Then another, and another, and again and again until there were half a dozen identical men standing in a circle. Then one detached himself – Iris supposed he must be the leader – and walked into the warehouse underneath her. Her breath hitched; she’d come up here for a good vantage point, not because she wanted to get jumped by Multiple Man. She had to get out of here, but she couldn’t do that until they left the goddamn warehouse. Iris got her wish in the next second, because the next thing she knew all six of them walked out carrying duffel bags. And Iris had been in enough unfortunate situations to realise that those bags weren’t carrying sportswear.

Iris made herself stay with the camera trained on them until they all disappeared into one the boats on the dock and didn’t come out again. Then she sprang up, careful to make as little noise as possible, before sliding down the ladder and walking as quickly as possible before she got to the city centre, both of her hands encased in the metal of her brass knuckles as she clenched her fists in her pockets, her bottle of mace only a second’s reach away. Then, when she reached a park bench in full view of the streetlights – not to mention some witnesses, she texted Linda to make sure she was still awake and, when she had, tell her that they were having pizza again.

***

Linda didn’t need to tell Iris that this was too big for her and that maybe she should let the police handle this one. Iris had the camera connected to the computer and a message composed to the Central City Police Department before she’d even taken off her shoes.

“You’re a magnet for this stuff, Iris,” Linda said, shaking her head. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Iris grinned. “Freaked the fuck out, but I’m good. They weren’t shooting at _me_.”

Her friend looked like she was going to say something else, but then she shrugged and walked back towards the kitchen. Iris was unsurprised that Linda was still awake writing at this time; she was working on some big expose about sports that she wouldn’t tell her about no matter how she needled her, and besides, half of their high school years had been spent staying up late and writing stories together. Just because Linda didn’t run around at night with a stun gun, didn’t mean she was any less badass.

Iris tapped her foot as she waited for the video to attach to the message. Even if Central City Police Department’s anonymous tip service meant that no one would know who sent this in, she had friends that made sure no one would ever know who she was. She kept the message short and sweet, careful not to mention anything that could get her in trouble.

_Footage recorded at 12.43am at Central City Docklands. Physical description: male, white, and of average build and above average height. Thought to be carrying firearms. Proceed with caution; the extent of his power is not known._

The computer pinged as the message whizzed away into the ether, and Iris printed off a dozen screenshots of the transformation happening for her own personal files. It didn’t hurt to have them and she was never worried about someone stealing them – who was going to steal files marked ‘old stories’? She plucked a new file from her desk and labelled it ‘Multiple Man’ (she was _terrible_ at coming up with these things), before finding the box marked ‘M’ to put it away.

“Crap,” she sighed as half of the folders fell out; the movers had placed the box upside down. She shoved everything back inside haphazardly and tried to find a space for the new one. _Malediction, Mama Michaels – Scarecrow associate, Man in Yell_ -

“Oh, fuck it,” Iris put the folder in amongst the others; her stomach was rumbling and she’d sort these files when she had time. Right now, she wanted some goddamn brownies before the pizza got here. Maybe if she worked hard enough on this STAR Labs story and babysat the junior writers for a few weeks, Mason would grow a heart and let her have a week off – that was at least how long she needed to sort through all these files. Iris was about to go find some when she noticed that she’d dropped a small polaroid on the floor. It must have come from one of her files. She stared at it for about a minute trying to make sense of it, but it must have been ancient because she had no idea who it could possibly be.

Why would she have a picture of what looked like a terrified ten-year-old boy in her files?

“Hey, West, you gotta pony up for the pizza!” Linda called.

Iris shrugged and dropped the picture in the box with the other files. She’d investigated far stranger things before. There was, she remembered with a shudder, that guy in Gotham who only committed crimes on major holidays. She never thought she’d see the day when she’d be held up by a man dressed as a Thanksgiving turkey when she went to go get cranberry sauce. To this day, she couldn’t have Christmas or Thanksgiving food without giving the turkey a once-over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm beginning to feel like Iris and Linda are subsisting on pizza, beer and coffee... Comments and kudos appreciated!


	6. Professional

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Barry and Iris are really good at being professional until they aren't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When texting, Barry is underlined and Iris is in italics.  
> NSFW. Really NSFW. I wrote this in my library and I keep thinking everyone is judging me.  
> This is almost twice the length of the last chapter, and they're probably all going to be about this length from now on.

_A white powder was found on the suspects shoes, and was taken to the lab for testing._

“Allen!”

Barry looked up from typing at his computer to see Detective Chyre frowning at him. “You got that Ginsberg report yet?”

“Right! Uh…” He looked over his messy desk, complete with racks of test tubes and a centrifuge that was still running, and groaned. He sprang up and started rummaging through the files on his desk. “It should be right…Here! All done.”

Chyre eyed the barbecue sauce stain in the corner of the report, but didn’t say anything as he took it and strode out. Barry sighed in relief and sat down at his computer again, cracking his knuckles.

_Testing revealed that it had a tangential relation to a Class A substance-_

“Allen, have you see Captain Singh?” DA Williams asked, sticking her head inside his lab.

“Uh, no ma’am, but I think he said he had a meeting with the Chief of the CCFD tonight.”

She nodded. “Thank you. Goodnight, Mr Allen. Try not to work too hard.”

“Of course,” he laughed. Half a dozen reports by the weekend and nobody was any closer to figuring out what in hell had happened at the Sun Dial Church. Of course he was going to work hard.

 _-possibly sugar, spice, and everything nice_. Barry stopped and stared at what he’d just typed.

Maybe it was time to turn off the computer.

As if on cue, his phone beeped and he saw _Iris_ flash up on the screen.

 _10.30 okay for you?_ Barry looked at his watch: 9.57pm.

That sounds perfect for me to be honest, but isn’t that a little late for you?

_I’m a reporter, Barry. All of my nights are late._

10.30 it is. Just give me some time to wrap some things up here, okay?

_It’s a date, Allen._

Barry couldn’t stop the grin on his face as he imagined the way she would roll her eyes and smile at him as she typed ‘I’m a reporter, Barry’. Like, ‘you’re such an adorable _nerd_ , Barry’. Well, that was probably – most definitely – wishful thinking. He had to admit that half of him was looking forward to this meeting because it meant that he got to see her smile at him again. Especially since his last girlfriend was…less than pleasant.

In retrospect, maybe he should have seen the signs. Or, more specifically, maybe he should have listened to Caitlin when she’d mentioned something about how clingy Becky had been acting. And Ronnie. And Cisco. Truth be told, he did think some of the things she did were kind of odd – like choosing what he wore and telling him what to eat – but he just took that to mean that maybe he was overzealous in how much she liked him. After all, some girlfriends did that for their boyfriends, didn’t they? Although Barry had to admit that the boyfriends didn’t seem quite so terrified to disobey what their girlfriends did. He did, however, have to draw the line when it came to Becky dictating who she hung out with. Maybe Caitlin and the other woman at STAR Labs could take Becky’s barbed comments towards them about ‘how much time they spent with Barry’ as misunderstandings, but Eddie’s fiancée was a bomb expert who fought in Afghanistan. Barry had absolutely _no_ desire to have his girlfriend come over for lunch at the station and then have Bette not-so-subtly threaten to put a bomb in her handbag. Again.

It was more than that, though. Barry didn’t particularly miss Becky for her personality (even though she _hadn’t been that bad_. Had she?), but he did miss the fact that he could call or text someone and just complain about his day, and they would listen and actually try to make it better. His missed someone actually _caring_. His father did his best, but sometimes Barry wanted to talk to someone who didn’t have a collect call and a surly, underpaid prison guard between them.

And, well. He missed the sex. A lot. Barry was a guy and he tried not to be a douche, but Becky was hot and…he was a guy.

Barry shook those thoughts out of his head as he shut down his computer and gathered up his stuff. Like Iris, he was used to late nights, especially with all of these odd crimes happening at a time when everyone was up and leaving the CCPD left, right and centre. He packed up his stuff and slung his bag over his shoulder, and almost made it out of the atrium when someone called his name. He turned to see Detective Thawne walking towards him.

Eddie Thawne was one of those people who Barry would normally hate if he _weren’t so goddamn nice_. He was tall, muscular, and very, very handsome. Even Barry had to admit the guy was attractive. Plus, he was always smiling and was actually good at his job. Except for today, apparently.

“Hey, Eddie, what’s up?”

“I just wanted to make sure you’re coming to the engagement dinner at the end of the month,” he replied. “Did you give me your RSVP?”

Barry knew for a fact that he’d done no such thing, because he’d dropped said RSVP in the rain while he was running to meet Iris. “I didn’t, actually, but I’m definitely going. Come on, Eddie, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Eddie sighed in relief, the frown disappearing from his face. “Thanks. I’m just a little stressed, you know? Because Bette has a final tour in Afghanistan before she gets back for the wedding, and I just want her to have a nice send-off.”

“She will,” Barry assured him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Bette’s really lucky to have you, Eddie, and she knows that. You’re going to be the most important part of the day for her.”

“Thanks, Barry,” Eddie replied. “Headed home?”

“No, I’m meeting someone at CCPN for the STAR Labs story they’re doing. Did I tell you about that?”

“Really? I know someone who works there, actually, it’s- Captain Singh? Yes, I can head over there right now. Sorry, Barry,” he said quietly, his hand over the speaker for his phone. “See you Monday.”

“See you Monday,” he replied, and walked out into the chill night air. As Barry walked towards CCPN, his collar turned up against the cold and his hands stuffed in his pockets, he thought about the idea of marriage. He’d always seen it as something far off in the future – like mortgages and the end of the world – but it was becoming clearer and clearer to him that it was something that people were doing with alarming frequency. Eddie was getting married after Christmas and Caitlin and Ronnie were already engaged, which freaked him out because they were closer to his age than Eddie and Bette were. Like everyone else, he always just assumed that he would find someone and get married, but that was harder than it sounded. (With a shudder, Barry remembered that time when Becky had casually asked him whether he liked spring or autumn weddings while they were eating breakfast in bed, and Barry had choked so hard on his toast that he had a sore throat for the rest of the day. Caitlin had to explain to him that Becky was being the complete   opposite of casual, but he was glad that she never brought it up again).

“Barry!” Iris called at him from across the room as he entered CCPN. There were only a few people left, given that it was the end of the day, and the man with the grumpy cat face wasn’t anywhere to be found. “How are you?”

“I’m good, thanks. Uh, I’m not late, am I?” he asked, looking around, and Iris laughed.

“No, you’re right on time, actually. I’m the new senior features editor – crap, remind me to give you a business card on Monday when they’re printed – so I got to spend today going through article ideas with the interns and junior writers, and picking which ones to get to do research for my stories.”

“Like with this one?” Barry hung up his jacket and sat across from her.

“Uh, no way, Barry Allen,” she scoffed, eyes trained on her computer. “This story is my baby. I’m not letting one of the babies at you; I want you all to myself.”

Iris was so distracted by whatever was on her computer that she didn’t noticed Barry blushing – at least, not at first. But then she noticed him smiling shyly at his hands and she smiled right back at him, and he found himself staring at her perfect, full mouth. Iris looked especially gorgeous today in a form-fitting, sleeveless grey dress, and if he wasn’t careful he was just going to spend the entire evening ogling her.

“Well, I’m here to help,” he said. “What are we talking about today?”

“Actually I’ve spent the past couple of days trying to organise what I want this article to look like,” she replied, finally turning from her computer and grabbing a notepad. “Sorry about that, I was looking up Italian recipes. So, there’s really a lot of angles I can cover with the story, so I’m thinking a four-part feature that will come out a few days before it gets turned on. The first thing I’m going to do is look into the history of this kind of thing in Central City, so what kind of projects like this one have happened over the years, why they were successful or maybe not so successful, and how the Particle Accelerator is different.”

“Great start,” he nodded.

“Thanks,” she replied. “Then I’m going go into more theoretical and practical stuff. I’m gonna be honest, I may actually just make you write it and then slap my name on it. I’m not really good at hard science-y stuff.”

“Hey, I will help you in any way I can with the hard stuff. The hard science stuff, that is,” he stammered. “That’s what I meant.”

“…Right,” Iris said softly. Barry realised he was staring at Iris’ lips and vaguely wondering if her lip-gloss was cherry-flavoured, but then someone tapped her on the shoulder and she turned to look at them. “Oh, thanks Winston. So I just go into the back office and turn on the alarms?”

“That’s right. Usually that would be the chief’s job, but god only knows where he is tonight.”

Iris waved goodbye to the last people in the office as she and Barry were left alone at her desk, and he pinched the bridge of his nose. _Get it together, Allen_.

“So, um, where were we? Oh, the science stuff. Like I said, I’ll need your help the most with that. After that it’s going to be what the Particle Accelerator and STAR Labs can do for the city. So some stuff on the economy and the community, especially the volunteer aspect of it. How many of you are there?”

“Two dozen, give or take. I’d have to ask our coordinator.”

“And what kind of stuff do you guys do?”

Barry rubbed the back of his neck. “Lots of stuff, to be honest. Usually its teaching kids and doing tours, but I’m better with the kids. I have to take notes on what’s going on with the day to day science developments, then explain it to them so they can do projects on it.”

Iris tipped her head to one side. “Really? I didn’t know you could do that.”

“Sure, it’s awesome. Hey, look at this,” he said suddenly. Even though he’d missed the presentations on Monday, he managed to get a picture of all the kids holding up their models and replicas on his phone.  He held it out to Iris. “This is the middle class, ages eight to eleven.”

“Oh my God, they’re adorable,” she said. They both looked up at the same moment, and Barry noticed how close they were, heads bowed over the table as they looked at his phone. His heartbeat quickened when he saw Iris’ eyes dart to his mouth before she cleared her throat.

“So, that’s the community aspect,” she continued, avoiding his eyes as he sat back down. “And then the last part will be about Harrison Wells himself and what STAR Labs means to him.”

“Oh, you’re putting Dr Wells last? I would have thought you’d put him in the middle.”

“I would, but he’s kind of half the story. People are just as interested in the man who created the Particle Accelerator as they’re interested in the thing itself.”

Barry nodded; despite his work as a volunteer, he didn’t think he could remember a time when Dr Wells had revealed anything personal about himself. “That, I get. I mean, I read his autobiography last year – 600 pages and the big takeaway is that he’s-”

“Enigmatic?”

“Exactly.”

“And that’s why I want to end with him. He can’t be hiding that many secrets, can he?” Iris looked at him. “Okay, you’re going to help me with this next part.”

“How?”

“Like I said, I’m not good with anything science-y, but I’ve also been living in Gotham for about seven years,” she replied, handing him the notepad. “I’m barely catching up with the news as it is, so I need you to tell me about scientific developments that have happened in the last few years, and which ones are relevant to this article.”

“So you want me to be your personal science slave.”

“Well, technically you’re CCPN’s science slave. I’m just the one who’s in charge of you.”

“Still counts.”

“…Will it help if I paid you in Chinese food?”

“Okay, you know your audience.”

They laughed and then both seemed to realise he had nothing to write with, before both reaching for the pot of pens on Iris’ desk. Barry blushed as their hands closed over the same pen – because apparently, he’d pissed off someone who enjoyed his extreme mortification – and they locked eyes again. “Um,” she said, indicating her smaller hand enveloped in his bigger one. “Barry.”

“Sorry,” he said, letting go.

“I was waiting for that,” she laughed.

“Waiting for what?” he asked.

“Your first ‘sorry’ of the night.”

Barry rolled his eyes. “What, you want me to hit you with an umbrella again?”

“Not even a little bit,” she said. She looked at him for a second, then shook her head slightly. “I should, um…I should close the blinds, since it’s so dark.”

“Yeah, I should get started on this. Whoa, professional,” he added. Iris had kicked off her shoes as she walked to the windows and started pulling the blinds shut and dimming the lights, and she turned around and stuck her tongue out at him.

“Oh, please,” she scoffed, “like you care. Who are you going to tell?

“Well, there’s your boss, grumpy cat.”

“Oh, Barry. You’re the CCPN science slave. No one will believe you.”

He rolled his eyes again as Iris crossed back to the desk and looked over his shoulder at the names he was writing. “Tina McGhee? The Mercury Labs lady?”

Barry tried very hard to concentrate on the list and not on the fact that Iris was so close to him that he could feel the heat emanating from her, and if he turned his head he could press his lips to hers and find out whether her lip-gloss was indeed cherry-flavoured. Arousal sparked across his skin and he clamped it down. “Yeah, she and Dr Wells used to be friends, once upon a time. She’s the one who built the tachyon device that’s sitting in the entrance of Mercury Labs.”

“Oh, I know. My brother goes on about her all the time. You’d like him, actually, but I think you’d both go off and make some sort of science-y thing without me.”

“I’d never leave you behind, Iris,” he said without thinking.

Iris smiled and ducked her head. “Yeah, well, with all the Chinese food I’m going to feed you, you’d better not. So, names?”

They worked like that for a couple of hours, him listing science-y people (Iris refused to call them anything else, no matter how many times he reminded her) and her researching past newspaper articles about them. Barry was surprised to find that it wasn’t uncomfortable, despite the fact that he’d only met this woman two days ago. But that didn’t mean he had a much, much bigger problem.

Either Iris was incredibly polite (which was true), he was getting subtler (which he doubted), or she was feeling the same way he was feeling (which was probably the most ludicrous thought he’d ever had), because there was no way that she didn’t notice that he’d been staring at her for most of the night. Every time she brushed past him or handed him something or, fuck, even just _looked_ at him a certain way, arousal would buzz through his blood like adrenaline. Maybe he _had_ been missing something with Becky Cooper.

Iris was looking at him in such a way now, absent-mindedly biting on her pinky finger as she took in everything he was saying through lidded eyes, but he was sure she had no idea what she was doing to his concentration. What she was doing to _him_.

“…so really, even though Martin Stein has disputed the viability of the Particle Accelerator, and Tina McGhee has refused to say whether or not it will affect the application of her own Tachyon Device, it’s pretty clear that the Particle Accelerator is going to push us light-years ahead in terms of science. Those two are really the ones you want to focus on, though.”

Iris grinned at him. “Well, I guess my interns have some work to do tomorrow. Thanks, Barry. Sorry for working you so hard.”

“Isn’t that what I’m here for?”

Iris giggled. “So, um, let me just put all this stuff on Andrew’s desk so he knows what to research on Monday, and then we can lock up and leave.”

“Sure,” he said. Then he sprang out of his chair and went towards her computer. “Hey, I never showed you that stimulation of what it’s going to look like when the Accelerator is turned on.”

“Oh yeah?” Iris said, walking back from across the room. “You sure it won’t ruin the surprise?”

“No way, the Accelerator turning on is going to be the best- Hey, careful.”

Barry turned just in time to see Iris trip over one of her discarded shoes and land straight on his chest; he had to grab her waist to steady her as they straightened.

“Sorry,” she said softly, looking up at him. “I guess I lost my balance.”

“No, it’s…” he trailed off, staring at her mouth, her face, her body. “It’s cool.”

Barry didn’t know whether Iris moved first or he was the one who moved his head downwards, but the next thing he knew his lips were pressed against hers and he was kissing her. It was a chaste peck at first, with her nipping at his lips like she was trying him out, but Barry wanted to know what she _tasted_ like, what it would feel like to have her mouth moving hungrily over his. He used one hand to tilt her head upward, deepening the kiss, and moaned in satisfaction when he tasted her mouth. _Cherries_.

Iris let out a sound that was halfway between a sigh and a moan as he wrapped his arms around her waist, coaxing her mouth open, and she slid her arms up to his shoulders and around his neck. One arm slid down to cup her ass before he could remind himself that was a _terrible_ idea, but Iris just _hmmed_ against his mouth, the sound going straight to his groin, and pressed herself against him. The kiss turned sloppy, and filthy, and breathless, and then it was Barry’s turn to moan as she threaded her fingers through his hair and dragged them across his scalp.

Barry felt his cock harden, and he felt Iris grin against his mouth as it pressed against her through his pants. “I guess I get to meet the real Mr Allen.”

“Well, it’s your fault for working me so hard.”

Iris giggled and kissed him again, her hands sliding under his shirt and cupping his pants, until finally she unzipped them and took his cock in her hand. Then he froze.

“Wait. Iris.”

“What’s up? You want to stop?”

“ _Fuck_ , no. It’s just, I broke up with someone like two weeks ago, and I’m not really sure I’m ready for anything-”

Iris pressed a finger to his mouth. “Barry Allen. Are you telling me that what we’re doing right now doesn’t mean anything?”

“I guess not.”

“And we’d just be fucking.”

Barry swallowed and cursed every single time he was taught to be a good person. “Yeah.”

But then Iris leaned forward and sucked on his bottom lip until he moaned. “Sounds perfect to me. Do you have a-”

“Of course.”

He fished a square packet out of his wallet and slipped it on, while Iris unzipped herself out of her dress and pulled off her panties. “Where should we…”

Iris leaned forward and kissed him again. “Chair is fine.”

Barry walked backwards, his mouth still roving greedily over hers, until he hit the back of the armless chair and he settled into it. Iris lowered herself onto him, and they moaned together as he pushed into her, his hands gripping her waist.

“Oh God,” she gasped. “ _Jesus_.”

“Is that – good?” he ground out through waves of pleasure.

“Incredible… _Fuck_.”

“I know.”

Iris wrapped her arms around his neck as she rolled her hips into him and he pulled his hips into her with each thrust, and they settled into a pounding rhythm, her breath coming out in hot, huffing gasps in his ear. Barry dragged his teeth along the skin of her neck and smiled into her skin when she shuddered with pleasure. He stopped paying attention to everything else; there was nothing but Iris wrapped around him and his hands on her hips as she rolled into him and him moaning into her neck.

“Iris,” he said, his teeth clenched. “I’m close – what – are-”

“Me-” Iris broke off with a shudder after Barry met a particularly hard roll of her hips with a thrust. “ _Fuck_. I’m – close too.”

She wrapped her legs tight around his waist and her back arched, letting out a guttural groan, and Barry felt his fingers grip her hips so hard he was certain he almost bruised her, and his vision blackened and his body stuttered against her. When Barry came out of the fog, all her could hear was the two of them gasping for breath, Iris’ head buried in his neck.

“Oh my God,” she said into his hair. “I just fucked a guy in a desk chair. I just fucked a guy in a desk chair at my new job.”

Barry frowned as she started shaking slightly, and then his eyes in alarm as he realised it sounded like she was crying. “Iris…Wait, are you laughing?”

“No,” she giggled. “Shut up.”

Barry tried to keep a straight face but her laughter was infectious, and soon they were laughing so hard they had to keep their arms wrapped around each other to keep from falling out of the chair. Eventually they fell into smiling, satisfied silence, before Iris pulled back and looked at him, her hands balanced on his shoulders. “Well that’s one way to get to know a person. We should probably…”

“Right.”

Iris stood up and found some tissues somewhere, handing a bunch to him. Barry kept looking at Iris as they changed back into their clothes, only to find that she was sneaking shy glances at him as well. He did think it was adorable how shy she was being now, given what they’d been doing a few minutes before. He took a deep breath.

“Listen, Barry-”

“Iris, I-”

They laughed and Barry tilted his head, indicating that she should go first. “You said you’re still getting over someone and you’re not looking to get into anything serious, and I am too and I just really want to concentrate on this job, so I don’t think we should…do that again.”

“That’s totally fine, Iris. I mean, I wasn’t exactly expecting a date from…that.”

“I know. I just feel like I kind of jumped your bones a little.”

Barry chuckled. “I don’t know if you remember, Iris, but I definitely wasn’t complaining. Listen, I like working with you, and I want to do this for Dr Wells, so as long as you’re okay with it, we can be, uh, professional is the word, I guess.”

Iris smiled at him, and Barry felt warmth bloom in his chest. “Professional,” she said. “Yeah, I can handle that. I could use another friend from work. So, this girl that you’re trying to get over. How long were you dating her for? She must have been pretty bad if you were willing to do what we just did to get over her.”

“Three months, and bad enough that I had to change coffee places. You?”

“Three years,” Iris said, and his mouth fell open in shock. “Yeah, it just ran it’s course, I guess. We started dating in college, and never really stopped.”

“Until now,” he pointed out.

“Until now,” she agreed. “And I think I just needed something to show me that I didn’t have to have this months-long mourning period, not if my heart wasn’t there.”

“I hear that’s what they hire science slaves for, actually.” They both laughed, and Barry grabbed his coat and bag. “Look, why don’t I help you lock up, and we can go home and be professional on Monday?”

“Sounds like a good idea.”

They stood outside the CCPN offices in the cold, alone on the moonlit street. Iris smiled up at him. “Well, Barry, it was nice working with you. I look forward to out next meeting.”

“You too. Should I bring condoms next time too, or…?”

She punched him in the shoulder. “Goodnight, Barry.”

“Goodnight, Iris.”

Barry walked off towards his own apartment, feeling lighter than he had in days. Maybe Iris was right and you only needed to mourn a relationship as long as it felt comfortable. And sometimes good sex – _really_ good sex – pushed you right over that line. He glanced back to see Iris striding purposefully in the other direction, her phone pressed to her ear. Barry smiled. He could _totally_ be friends with Iris. And the fact that she was attracted enough to him to want to fuck him in a desk chair?

That was just the icing on the cake.

***

_What’s a singularity?_

That was the message that woke Barry up, his phone flashing from underneath his face because he’d managed to fall asleep on top of it. It took him three tries of reading the message – after rubbing the sleep out of his eyes – to understand it, and then another second to realise that it was from Iris.

It’s six o’clock in the morning – what are you doing up so early?

_My roommate dragged me out of bed at the crack of dawn for a guilt-jog and I couldn’t back to sleep, so I’m working on the article_.

What’s a guilt-jog?

_I’ll tell you if you tell me what a singularity is_.

A singularity is the region in which spacetime curvature becomes infinite.

_You are so full of it – that’s from Wikipedia._

Well, that’s what it is.

_If I understood the Wikipedia definition, why would I be asking you?_

Oh, you mean you don’t wake up all your friends at the crack of dawn?

_Only the ones I really like._

It took a couple of seconds to realise that Barry was grinning at this back and forth between them. He'd love being her friend from work if it was going to be this easy.

It’s basically a black hole.

_See, was that so hard? What are you up to today?_

More volunteering.

_You’re adorable. Have a nice day :)_

You too.

Barry was still smiling when he ran into Cisco on the way out of STAR Labs the next day. The engineer perked up when he saw him.

“Barry Allen!” he greeted him, slapping him a high five. “How are you doing? Wait, why the hell are you smiling like that?”

“Who, me? Nothing. Uh, good night’s sleep, I guess.”

Cisco peered at him, before his face cleared and he grinned. “Okay, if that’s what we’re calling it these days.”

“Cisco-”

“Hey, I am not judging. We all need a ‘good night’s sleep’ once in a while. It’s good for the soul.”

Barry rolled his eyes and grinned. “Thanks. Headed home?”

“Dude, I just spent the last twelve hours reconfiguring the specifications for the Pipeline’s structure. I don’t even know how I’m standing up straight to talk to you.”

“Better get home, get an _actual_ good night’s sleep. Hey, we’re still on for drinks on Monday, right?”

“Duh. I’m gonna get you drunk enough to puke if it kills me. Later, man.”

Barry waved goodbye to Cisco and walked into the building towards the volunteer wing. Security was lax today because of the scientists were working – it was only the kids working on their projects or people in the research wing. He was just pulling his lesson plans out of his bag when Vera tapped him on the shoulder.

“Hey, Barry, I – What are you smiling at?”

“What? Um. Nothing. Uh, what’s up?” Vera rolled her eyes in irritation.

“Freddie spilled espresso all over one of the files that wasn’t backed up, and now I have to find out whatever it is we’re missing. What’s the name of the reporter who’s covering the STAR Labs story?”

Barry actually had to fight the smile forming on his face. “Iris.”

“Iris what?”

He opened his mouth to answer, and then found that he didn’t actually know her last name. He wracked his brain before shaking his head. “Sorry, I guess I didn’t catch it.”

“Seriously? You’ve met her twice already.”

“She worked me pretty hard during those meetings.”

“Well, tell me when you find out what it is, okay? I’ll see you later.”

Barry meandered down to one of the classrooms to find a small group of children playing with some of the scientific replicas. “Barry!” they shouted when they saw him, and he smiled.

“Hey, everyone. I hear your presentations went really well last week.”

One of the kids, Miles Hampton, shot up excitedly and ran to the back of the room. “Mine was the best! It was a model of the contan- contami-”

“Containment,” Barry suppled helpfully, crouching down next to him.

“The containment cells! My sister helped me with it, wanna see?”

And then the second person in as many days tripped and fell on top of Barry but, instead of getting sex, and he got was hit in the head with Miles’ surprisingly hard model. The last thing he saw before everything went black was the image of Miles about to burst into tears.

***

“Welcome back, Mr Allen,” someone said as he started awake. He looked down and noticed that he was in a hospital bed and sat up. “What happened? Where am I?”

Then a doctor came into view, shoving a light into both of his eyes. “Cental City Memorial. You hit your head and you have a concussion. Or rather, I gather one of the children in your care hit you over the head with something pretty hard. A Vera Summers drove you here but had to go back to look after them.”

Barry blinked at her as a wave of pain assailed his head. “I passed out?”

“Yes, but it’s nothing to worry about. Your head CT came back clean and nothing seems amiss. Any nausea, memory loss, blurry vision?”

“No, Doctor…”

“Crane.”

“Doctor Crane. Just a headache, I guess.”

Doctor Crane nodded. “That’s what I thought. Now, we’ve called someone to take you home-”

Barry looked up in alarm at that, and then cursed inwardly because the sudden action hurt. “What? I’m fine. I don’t live very far.”

“Unfortunately, Mr Allen, it’s against medical protocol to discharge someone with a concussion by themselves.”

He just stared at her. Who the fuck had they called? His emergency contact lived in National City (at least, he thought they still did) and he didn’t think he’d seen them since his college graduation three years ago. But then Barry’s question was answered when someone knocked on the door and Detective West came in. “Allen? You alright?”

 Barry swallowed guiltily. “Detective West, I’m so sorry to take you out of your day, I didn’t-”

“It’s okay, Allen,” he said reassuringly, holding out a hand to stop him. “I only came in to file some paperwork. Apparently they called the station because they saw your badge. How are you feeling?”

He shrugged. “A little tired, I guess. And my head hurts.”

Doctor Crane laughed. “That’s to be expected. I just need you to fill out these medical forms, and you should be good to go.” She handed him the forms and then walked out, before turning back briefly. “Mr Allen, I gather from reception that an attempt was made to contact your regular emergency contact, but they were either unresponsive or unwilling to help?”

Barry clenched his jaw, focusing on the doorframe behind the doctor’s head so he wouldn’t see the pity in her eyes. “I’m not surprised. They live on the other side of the country, and we’re not that close.”

“I see. If I may, I would recommend changing it, because I would hate to see something happen to you and no one be there to help.”

He nodded and mustered up a smile. Another thing to worry about. “I’ll try.”

Doctor Crane left him with painkillers and instructions on self-care, and Barry turned to the medical and insurance forms he had to fill out, his head balanced on one hand. But almost every time he picked up the pen and try to write something, a wave of pain made him close his eyes. Then he felt someone take the pen and forms from him.

Detective West took off his hat and coat and sat down to fill in the forms. “Detective West, you don’t have to do that.”

“Of course I do. You look like you’re going to pass out again. And as soon as we get to reception, we’re going to make me your emergency contact.”

“Sir, you don’t have-”

“Yes, I do. Do you think I could have raised two kids in this climate with my job if I didn’t have people looking out for me? You can’t just exist by yourself and hope nothing bad happens to you, because I guarantee that it will.”

Barry shrugged. “I’m good without people. I’ve gotten this far by myself.”

Detective West looked at him. “Everybody needs people, Barry.”

He didn’t know whether it was his head or the way he spoke or the fact that he thought it was the first time he’d called him ‘Barry’, but a lump formed in his throat that made it hard to speak, so he just nodded. “Thank you, sir.”

“Joe.”

“Joe.”

“Take your medicine.”

“Okay.”

After they’d handed the forms on, Joe led Barry to his car. “What are you doing for dinner tomorrow?”

“Leftover pizza, I think.”

“Well, you’re welcome to come over and join us. My daughter’s back in town and I’m sure she wouldn’t mind another extra guest. She’s making Italian.”

(That, Barry would realise later, should have been the biggest clue. He’d blame it on the headache).

“That would be nice, I’d appreciate that.”

Joe smiled at him, a warm, fatherly smile, and Barry decided that maybe Detective West wasn’t so scary after all. “Alright. Now, I’ll call you a few times today and tomorrow to make sure you’re alright. Make sure you get a good night’s sleep.”

“Thanks, sir.”

“And if you call me ‘sir’ one more time, I’m gonna shoot you.”

Barry laughed. “Sorry, Joe.”

Joe rolled his eyes and hitched a thumb at his car. “Let’s get you home, Barry.”

So that was how Barry found himself outside the West family home the following evening, flowers for Joe’s daughter in one hand and a bag of gifts for Joe and Wally in the other, because hadn’t his mother always said something about bringing something when you came to someone’s house for dinner? Only maybe she’d meant food. Barry rang the doorbell, frowning nervously. Maybe he should have brought dessert. Fuck, he should have asked Detective West. But wouldn’t that be rude, bringing dessert when no one asked? But before he could freak out too much, someone opened the door, and he almost dropped the flowers. “Iris?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See, that's why you should get a girl's last name before you fuck her in a desk chair, Barry. I was really, really, REALLY nervous about this one, so I appreciate feedback. I love you all for reading and commenting! ;)


	7. Friendly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Barry and Iris learn how to be friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your patience everyone! I really appreciate you all loving it so much.  
> This one got even longer than the last one. But you've all been asking for that so... :)  
> Also, it's a LOT of dialogue, but I hope you'll all be happy with everyone's interactions and characterisations. For the scene at the end, I imagine 'Rock the Ride' by the Asteroids Galaxy Tour playing - it's from the scene in 'Plastique' when everyone's at the bar.  
> NB. Before I called Star City's newspaper the Star Song because I didn't think they had one. They do - it's called the Star Sentinel, so that's what we're calling it from now on.

Iris hung up the phone as she entered her apartment and was completely unsurprised to hear that the TV was still going. Maybe if she went in the living room and said goodnight to Linda she wouldn’t be able to tell she’d just had her brains fucked out. She stuck her head around the door to see her roommate was eating a plate of something. “Hey, Linda, I had a pretty long night, so I’m just gonna turn in.”

“Oh, sure, I’ll see you – Oh my God, you had sex.”

“Linda, I don’t know what you’re – Oh my God, _so did you_!”

Now it was Linda’s turn to look guilty. “No, I didn’t.”

“Don’t you lie to me. You’re eating ribs. You think I don’t know that you always want ribs after sex? Who did you do?”

“Who did _you_ do?”

Linda bit her lip. “One of the reporters from the Star Sentinel.”

Iris gasped. “Linda, that’s terrible! They’re the enemy!” She paused. “Wait, unless it was Jonathan Chase? With the swoopy hair and the pretty eyes?”

“Yeah,” she grinned.

“Ugh, now I just hate you.”

Her friend giggled and pulled her down beside her on the couch. “So, what about you? Most of the people had left the office by the time I took the interns to the game. Who’d you do, West?”

“Um. Barry Allen.”

“The guy from STAR Labs?” Linda exclaimed disbelievingly. “How the hell did that happen?”

Iris paused before answering. Somewhere between him walking into CCPN in the tight maroon tee that showed off his shoulders and her noticing just how beautiful his mouth was, she’d decided that she might have a teeny tiny crush on Barry Allen. Maybe it was when he’d kissed her and pulled her against that lean, strong body of his – maybe that was the moment she decided she just wanted him. “It just did, I guess.”

“Yeah, but at the office? You dirty girl.”

“Oh, that reminds me, how do I get a new desk chair?”

“Why do you need a new… _Iris_!” Linda had a hand over her mouth. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“Was it good?”

“It was incredible. He’s hiding a lot of hot under all that nerd.”

“I’ll bet. So…”

Iris eyed the leftover ribs on the table idly. “So, what?”

“Are you going to call him? Tell him you want to do it on your desk next time?”

She laughed. “No, Lin. It was good – Well, fuck, it was _great_ , but I think that was just me being brave again, you know? A way to tell myself that’s okay to want someone else.”

Linda nodded, impressed. “Well, then, Iris West, I congratulate you on your rebound fuck.”

Iris nodded back. “Thank you, Linda Park. Now spill, I’m dying to know whether Chase is a good kisser.”

“Nuh-uh. We’re going to bed; we’re getting up in a few hours.”

“Why? It’s Saturday and…” Iris’ face cleared when Linda’s eyes flicked to the plate of ribs. “No. No way, Lin.”

“ _Please_?”

“Why is it that every time _you_ sleep with someone, I’m the one who ends up getting up early to help you burn off the calories from your sex ribs?”

Linda wrapped her arms around her. “Because you love me. And because I know all your secrets.”

 _Not all of them_ , Iris thought. She didn’t know, for example, that it was Barry she was messaging when they got back from their ridiculously early guilt-jog. Linda, damn her, had managed to fall right back to sleep again, but Iris was way too wired, so she opened up her notes and worked, willing her mind to get tired so she could at least take a goddamn nap later in the day. Then when she was satisfied she’d done enough for the job that actually paid her bills, she opened up her blog and started drafting.

She hadn’t yet put up the blog post about Multiple Man as she wanted the police to make their move first, but she did put it in her draft notes that people should be careful around the docks at night. Iris tried to maintain a good relationship with law enforcement whenever she went about her business, starting with not doing anything illegal and not encouraging anyone to put themselves in danger. Whenever she found out things like this, for example, she always sent them straight to the police, no questions asked, and always with evidence to back it up. She’d had a great relationship with the Gotham City Police Department, especially Commissioner Gordon, but they saw more of Iris West than they did of True North because that entire precinct was dirtier than day old dishwater. She’d lost count of the number of dirty cops she had to write about. The SCPD, despite being on the other side of the country while she lived in Gotham, trusted her almost implicitly, and she also had a good readership over there that still kept her informed of what went on in Star City. Not that she needed it.

Iris chewed on her lip as she scrolled through the messages she’d gotten. She had asked for the weird and wonderful things that were happening in Central City, and her people had definitely delivered. There was of course the tip on Multiple Man, but reports of strange noises in the sewers and an incredibly campy criminal who ran around in a giant parka; Iris had absolutely no desire to go walking about in sewers – again – but she wouldn’t object to a good campy criminal. One that didn’t rob banks dressed as a Thanksgiving turkey, preferably. She scrolled and scrolled, frowning when she came to the very last message:

 _What do you know about Harrison Wells_?

There were tons of comments underneath it, most of them talking about how much of a genius he was and what he was going to do with his new invention. But it was the way that it was phrased that sent shivers up her spine; like he was hiding secrets behind that enigmatic smile and blue, blue eyes. She dismissed the notion that it was Mason immediately even though he’d asked her that very question on the first day she met him, simply because he was always suspicious and he treated absolutely everyone like they were a criminal mastermind looking to take over the world until they were explicitly proven to be otherwise. Iris had long since become used to the prospect of people she knew and talked to reading about True North and sending in tips, but she highly doubted this one was Mason Bridge. The guest username simply said _Mentis_ , which she knew was Latin for ‘mind’. Iris shook her head, dismissing the message. There were tons of people who sent her in questions demanding that she investigate their strange conspiracy theories, and as much as she sometimes wished that she _was_ Jessica Jones, she wasn’t. Besides which, Barry worshipped the ground he walked on, so Harrison Wells couldn’t have been that bad. She did make a note to say something about it though.

Through nothing but sheer force of habit, Iris ended her drafting session by scrolling through her messages and the comments and looking for a particular name. Logically, she knew she shouldn’t have a favourite follower – she didn’t _know_ these people, after all – but she did have a soft spot for someone who called himself ‘The Scientist’. He had been her first follower back when she was sixteen and started writing about weird things, and he’d dutifully follower her since, always liking her stories and leaving her positive messages. He hadn’t left any messages today, but Iris wasn’t worried. People actually had lives outside of her blog, after all. Just as she closed down her computer her phone buzzed with a message, and she ignored the little sliver of disappointment that sprung up because it wasn’t Barry. Instead, it was Wally.

_CSI the Dork 4 dinner tomorrow, make more food_

Iris glared at her phone. Sometimes she wondered what the hell went on in her little brother’s brain. She fired off a quick message back, demanding that he explain exactly who the fuck this guy was, but of course Wally didn’t reply because he loved to irritate her. _Asshole_.

“Who’s an asshole?” Linda yawned, wandering into her room and flopping on her bed. “You have a parcel, by the way. I think it’s a DVD or something.”

“Thanks. And Wally’s the asshole. Dad invited someone from the station for dinner tomorrow but he keeps calling the poor guy ‘CSI the Dork’.”

Linda giggled. “Oh, Iris, don’t look at me like that. I think you’re the only person who doesn’t find that cute asshole brother of yours hilarious.”

“I think you’re the only one who finds my hilarious asshole brother cute.”

Iris smirked a little at the slight blush colouring her cheeks. While she’d known that Wally had harboured a crush on Linda since they were teenagers, she’d never known whether Linda liked him back. Maybe that was about to change. “You want to come over for dinner tomorrow?”

“Sure. I’ll never pass up free food and I haven’t seen your dad in a while.”

“Awesome,” Iris replied. She grabbed the paper that was sliding out of her printer and shoved it in Linda’s face. “You’re in charge of getting the groceries.”

“Why me?”

“Because you made me get up at the asscrack of dawn, that’s why.”

Linda glared at her as Iris crawled onto the bed beside her and closed her eyes. “Sometimes I don’t know why I’m friends with you.”

“It’s because we both know too many things about what the other one does while on tequila.”

“Oh that’s right.” Linda paused. “How _did_ we all end up in Hoboken that time?”

Iris snorted. “I think it was something to do with the fact that we kept ordering tequila shots in Spanish even though we couldn’t speak the language. And the bartender was really, really hot.”

“Eh, at least we got to keep the sombrero. Makes a good chip bowl.”

It wasn’t tequila that Iris and Linda brought to her father’s house; it was wine, but that didn’t stop Iris from trying to ply her with the stuff to get her to tell her about the story she was working on.

“Come on, Lin,” she whined, turning away from the chicken alfredo. “I’m not going to tell anyone.”

“No can do, West.”

“What is this big secret about the Central City Diamonds? Does someone have an offshore account? Lovechild?” Iris paused. “Is one of them an alien?”

Linda laughed as she cut up tomatoes. “No, none of them are an alien. Do you think I wouldn’t tell you if one of them was an alien? When you found out that I met Superman, you didn’t speak me for a month.”

“I didn’t speak to you for a month because you met Lois Lane,” Iris pointed out. “You know how I feel about her.”

Her friend gave her a bright smile. “Well, you’ll just have to read about it in the paper.”

Iris narrowed her eyes. “I hate you.”

“You love me.”

Iris opened her mouth to say something but then the doorbell rang. “Wally?” No answer. “I swear, that boy only hears me when I say ‘dinner’s ready!’ Could you watch the pasta?”

“Sure.”

Iris didn’t have a lot of interest in sports, but Linda hadn’t been this secretive about a story since she exposed that big scandal about eating disorders amongst cheerleaders on college teams. She chewed on her lip as she unlocked the door. Maybe it was something to do with- “Iris?”

She blinked in utter disbelief. Barry Allen was standing on her doorstep, smartly dressed in blue jeans and a black jacket over a black button-down short-sleeved shirt. He was also holding a huge bouquet of flowers and had his familiar, adorably confused expression on his face. “Barry? What are you doing here?”

“I’m supposed to be having dinner at a colleague’s house.” He frowned, looking at the smudged ink on his hand. “I was sure I had the right address…”

Cold realisation washed over Iris, and she put her hand on his arm. “Barry. Bar. Do you…Are you a CSI at CCPD?”

He gave her a quizzical look. “I never told you that.”

“That’s because my dad told me. Detective West.”

He blinked at her several times. “You’re Detective West’s daughter. You’re Iris…Huh. Okay. I slept with Detective West’s daughter. I’m going to die. He’s going to shoot me. He’s going to shoot me with his gun and then I’ll be dead. Because he’s going to shoot me.”

“Barry, my father is not going to shoot you for sleeping with me.”

He stared at her, wild-eyed. “Have you never seen the vein that pops in his neck when he gets mad? And that’s just when I hand in reports late! He has a _gun_ , Iris, and I can’t run that fast!”

“I’m not going to tell him we slept together, you dork!” she whispered. “Do you tell your father about all the girls you sleep with?”

He looked like he hadn’t even thought of that. “I…I guess not.”

“Then we should just-”

“CSI the Dork! You made it!” Wally came down the stairs and looked between Barry and Iris, who were standing very close to one another. He looked between the two of them. “Oh, you two know each other?”

“No,” Iris said at the same time Barry said “Yes”. Iris swallowed. “Um. We met at work. Barry’s helping me with a story.”

“Right,” he agreed. “I’m just helping her with a story. At the paper. Where she works.”

Wally’s eyes darted between the two of them briefly, before he shrugged. “Okay, whatever.”

“Hey, Linda’s here, go help her chop stuff,” Iris said, waving a hand towards the kitchen. “Don’t eat the chicken! Really, Barry?” she said as she turned to him. “Could you have made us sound any guiltier? We’re lucky my brother has the attention span of a goldfish.”

“Okay, I’m sorry, but how was I supposed to know you’re related to one of my bosses? Why didn’t you tell me your last name?”

Iris folded her arms and narrowed her eyes. “Well, Barry, if I recall correctly, I tried to tell you my last name when we met. You attacked me with your umbrella.”

Barry smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, sorry about that. Do you really think he noticed anything?”

“Oh, no. The minute I said Linda’s name, he went to go park himself in there to stare at her with heart eyes.”

He cocked his head to one side. “Oh, is Linda the one who doesn’t know she’s the love of his life yet?”

“How did you…Of course. You met Wally before you met me. Is this the part where I find out you’ve been stalking me?”

“Iris, if you don’t think I’d be the world’s most obvious stalker, you haven’t been paying attention.”

They laughed together and Iris sighed, smiling. “Okay, well, I guess things can’t get any weirder, so welcome to our home. Who are the flowers for?”

Barry only just seemed to remember he was holding them. “Oh. These are for Detective West’s daughter to thank her for making dinner for the nerdy CSI her dad works with. This other stuff is brandy for your dad and a book for Wally.”

A warm feeling glowed in Iris’ chest like embers, and she smiled at him as she took the flowers. “Wow, Barry, that’s so sweet of you. Mm, they smell amazing. Are you sure you didn’t know I was Detective West’s daughter?”

“If I knew you were his daughter I would have brought you brownies. Why?”

“Well, you got me irises.”

Barry ducked his head and rubbed the back of his neck, smiling nervously. “Yeah, I guess I had them on my mind. They were the only flowers I could think of.”

Iris was sure she would have spent the next ten minutes just smiling at Barry, but then she remembered the chicken alfredo still had to go in the oven. “Um, why don’t you come in and meet Linda before dinner? Dad went to the station, but he should be back soon.”

After she showed him where to put his jacket, Barry followed her into the kitchen, ducking his head underneath the low doorframe. Iris huffed when she saw that Wally was _not_ helping Linda chop things, but was instead sneaking chicken bits out of the pasta. “Wally, you’re supposed to be helping!”

“I am helping,” he replied. “I’m making Linda laugh while she does this incredibly boring task you gave her.”

“Go set the table.”

“Make me.”

“You wanna get fed?”

Wally stuck his tongue out at her before he left; she did it back to him before crossing the room to put the flowers in water. “Unfortunately you’ve already met my asshole brother. Barry, this is Linda, my best friend and my roommate.”

Linda shook Barry’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you,” he said politely. She smiled back at him.

“I think I saw you at the paper on Wednesday. The guy with the umbrella, right?”

He groaned. “Does everyone know that story?”

Iris laughed from where she was carefully pouring the pasta mixture into a baking dish. “You weren’t exactly inconspicuous, Bar.”

“I thought the grumpy cat guy was going to kill me.”

Linda frowned. “Grumpy cat guy?”

“Mason,” Iris and Barry said together. He stood up. “Hey, Iris, can I use your bathroom?”

“Sure. Right up the stairs, second door on the left.”

After Barry left, Iris noticed that it suddenly got very quiet. She turned to see Linda giving her a look. “What?”

“Did you two get married while I wasn’t looking?”

“What are you talking about?”

“‘Bar’? Grumpy cat? And he got you flowers!”

“He was being friendly! We’re friends.”

“You don’t stay just friends with someone that hot.”

Iris rolled her eyes. “Whatever, Lin. Could you get that last bag of groceries so I can make the bruschetta? And pass me the tomatoes.”

Linda dutifully obliged while Iris sprinkled the remaining cheese over the pasta and slid it into the oven, only to see that Linda was closely examining a baguette in one hand and a breadstick in the other. “What are you doing?”

“I’m just wondering,” she said slowly. “About Barry. Is he a breadstick or a baguette?”

Iris blinked. “Well, we haven’t had dinner yet. Why don’t you see which he likes the most?”

“I don’t mean what he _likes_ ; I mean what he _is_. Breadstick…or baguette?”

“Breadstick or…” Then Iris gasped as Linda waggled her eyebrows suggestively. “Oh my God. Oh my God, you’re terrible.”

“Which is it?”

“I’m not telling you that!”

“Now he’s skinny, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything…”

“Linda, shut up!”

“You looked totally blissed out when you got back. And your hair looked like someone had been at it with a rake.”

Iris covered her face with her hands. “Jesus Christ.”

“But maybe he’s just really good with his hands. Is he good with his hands?”

“Linda, my brother is literally in the next room.”

“Fine. Maybe we should ask what he thinks.”

“ _Linda_.” Iris hit her friend with a dish towel. “Fine. If… If you must know, Barry is…a baguette,” she said quietly. Linda grinned.

“I knew it. You’re going to do him on Mason’s desk next.”

“I will kill you and- Baguette!” Iris clapped a hand over her mouth as Barry gave her a confused smile. “I mean, Barry. Um. Did you find the bathroom okay?”

“Yes, thank you,” he replied. He looked at Linda, who had her head resting in one hand and gave him a little finger wave. “Hi, Barry,” she said dreamily.

“Hi…Are we having baguettes for dinner?” he asked, nodding at Iris as she cut one up.

“Oh no, I’m making bruschetta for the starter. This is the first full course meal I ever taught myself how to make, so I’m pretty good at it, if I do say so myself.”

“Hey, did you know that the shape of the baguette allows the maximum amount of dough to be exposed more directly to the heat in the baking process? That’s how you get that thick, hard texture that the French love so much.”

“Oh, Iris loves baguettes,” Linda added helpfully. “The harder the better, right Iris?”

Iris felt her face get hot. “Hey Linda, why don’t you go make sure Wally is actually setting the table?

“Sure.” She sauntered up to the kitchen counter and reached around Iris for one of the pieces of salmon. “Try not to stare at his baguette,” she whispered, before walking out. Barry cleared his throat. “Did I miss something?”

“Linda is a little drunk,” she replied swiftly, nodding at the glasses of wine on the table. “You should just ignore pretty much everything she says.”

“Okay,” he said. He looked around. “Is there anything I can do to help? Do you want me to run out and get dessert or something?”

“Barry, you’re a guest. I’m not going to make you run out and get anything. Plus, Linda already brought a cherry and chocolate cake for dessert.”

“Cherries?” he grinned. “Awesome, I love cherries. So why’d your dad go into work today?”

“Apparently something else happened with the case at the Sun Dial Church,” she replied a little too casually. “What’s going on with that?”

“Uh-huh. Nice try, Iris.”

“Can’t you just tell me?”

“I’m not at liberty to discuss an ongoing investigation with you.”

“Since when, Mr Blabbermouth?”

“Maybe if I had one of those bruschetta things I’d be more willing to talk,” he said, walking up to the counter. “What are they?”

“Salmon, cheese and tomato on top of a baguette served with garlic oil,” she replied. Without thinking, she picked up one of the prepared ones and held it up to his mouth; he ate it obediently. “Good?”

Barry chewed and swallowed, nodding vigorously. “Really good. Really… _Ow_ ,” he muttered, grabbing his head. Iris frowned as Barry swayed and then suddenly pitched forward so she had to grab his shoulders to stop him from falling over.

“Barry? Bar- Okay, come sit down.”

“Owwww,” he moaned quietly as she settled him in the chair.

Iris sat down opposite him, trying to get him to look at her. She tilted his chin upwards. “Barry, are you okay? What happened?”

“I kind of have a concussion.”

Her eyes widened in alarm. “A concussion?”

“Yeah, Miles hit me in the head with one of his models, and I passed out, and then I woke up at the hospital and they told me I had a concussion, and they called your dad to take me home. Uh, I guess I shouldn’t have been shaking my head around so much.”

“Barry,” she sighed, smiling. She leaned forward and placed her hand on his forehead. “You’re a little warm. Do you want to go lay down before dinner?”

“No, no, I’m okay. I have painkillers,” he explained. He looked up at her from underneath his eyelashes as she stroked his hair, that adorable smile on his face. “Could I have some water so I can take them and not almost pass out on top of you again?”

“Coming right up. Just let me find a- Dad!” Iris looked up to see her father leaning in the doorway of the kitchen, his eyes crinkled with amusement. She removed her hand from Barry’s forehead self-consciously. “You’re back!”

“Detective West,” Barry started, standing up.

“Barry, don’t stand up too fast-”

“ _Owwww_.”

“-because of your head,” Iris finished. “Let’s get you those painkillers. How was the station, Dad?”

“Same old, same old,” he shrugged, leaning forward to shake Barry’s hand. “How are you doing, Barry?”

“A lot better than yesterday, sir. Joe,” he added quickly. “Thank you for inviting me to your home.”

“Pleasure to have you. I see you’ve met my daughter already.”

“Actually, dad, we met at work,” Iris told him. “Barry’s the volunteer at STAR Labs that’s helping me write about the Particle Accelerator turning on in a couple of months.”

And then Joe West groaned, because he knew that his son with the unfortunate ears of the West men, despite the fact that he had selective hearing when it came to his father and his sister, had undoubtedly heard the words ‘Particle Accelerator’. So when Wally burst into the room, interrupting himself in the middle of making Linda laugh with a Donald Duck impression, and demanded, “Did someone say Particle Accelerator?” he knew it was going to be a long dinner.

Iris, in the middle of the chicken alfredo course about an hour later, couldn’t have agreed more with him. It wasn’t that she didn’t _like_ science, exactly, but there was a reason she had opted to give up physics in high school.

“…people always make the mistake of thinking that heavy water causes radiation contamination,” Barry explained animatedly, waving his fork in the air. “But that’s just not the case.”

“I think I read about that once,” Wally replied. “There was a study where all these employees started finding tritium in their urine and thought they were getting poisoned by toxic heavy water, when it was actually-”

“-radiation poisoning from the other isotopes!” they finished together. Barry looked pleased. “I had no idea you were into nuclear physics, Wally.”

“I’m not, usually,” he replied, and Iris frowned. “Don’t talk while you’re chewing, dumbo.”

“I think I liked you a lot better when you were in Gotham, ladybird.” But he swallowed obediently and turned back to Barry. “I’m a mechanical engineer, but I while I was at Notre Dame there was this lecture by Jason Donald-”

“Oh yeah!” Barry interrupted excitedly. “Your dad mentioned how much you liked him. Sorry for interrupting, I just…Can I be excused for a moment?”

Barry disappeared to the kitchen for a minute, during which time Linda nudged Iris. “Is he always like this?”

“Yes,” Joe and Iris replied.

When Barry came back, he was holding the bag he had earlier. “Like I said, your dad mentioned that you liked him, and I went to Notre Dame as well but I left before you turned up, and Jay was one of my professors.” Barry handed Wally a book. “He sent me some advanced reader copies of his new book about nuclear physics, and I thought you might like it.”

The whole table went silent and everyone looked at Barry. He swallowed nervously. “Uh, you don’t have to take it if…if you don’t want it, it’s just-”

“Shut up,” Wally interrupted. “Of course I’m taking it; I’ve been waiting for this book for months! But are you sure?”

Barry grinned. “Now I have someone to talk to about it. It’s not like I need two copies.”

Wally grinned back. “Thanks, man, this is awesome.”

“That’s really sweet of you, Barry,” Linda added sincerely. Iris didn’t know what to say; all she knew was that she wanted to reach across the table and kiss Barry because she couldn’t believe what an amazing thing he’d done for her brother without even asking. Instead, she turned to Wally and said, “I guess you have to call him by his actual name now.”

“Whoa now, let’s not overreact, ladybird.”

They laughed as Barry handed the brandy to Joe, who nodded in approval. “Now we can keep you, kid.”

“What about Iris?” Wally asked. “I know she’s the worst-” Iris swatted him on the arm “-but didn’t you get her anything?”

“Oh, he gave her something al- _Ow_!”

“Sorry, Linda,” Iris smiled apologetically. “Clumsy moment. Actually, Wally, Barry got me flowers.”

“Irises, to be exact,” Linda added helpfully. “Isn’t that sweet?”

Joe smiled in surprise. “How did you know to get her irises? I don’t think I even told you her name.”

“Oh, Barry and Iris are already best friends,” Wally answered, going back to his food.

“Really?”

“ _No_!” Barry and Iris said together. Wally stared at the pair of them. “You’re both so _weird_.”

“We know each other through work,” Iris said quickly. “Barry is a friend from work, that’s all.”

“Yeah, I mean, I wouldn’t call us _best_ friends,” Barry continued. “We’re friendly, sure, but just, you know, the…normal amount of…of friendly.”

“Yeah, Wally,” Linda said. “What am I, chopped liver? I didn’t put up with twenty years of this one to not be the best friend.”

“Anyway, nobody wants to hear about that.” Iris turned to her father. “Dad, what’s going on at the Sun Dial Church? Every time I hear about it there’s something new and weird going on, and Barry won’t tell me.”

“What makes you think I’ll tell you?”

“Because I’m your favourite.”

Linda laughed. “Honestly, how neither the police nor the journalists didn’t figure out something was going on there is beyond me. What kind of place calls themselves the ‘Sun Dial Church’?”

“Or from the pot smell,” Barry said. “It took me the longest time to figure out why it always smelled like a frat house at midnight.”

“Oh, you mean that place on the east side?” Wally said absently, not looking up from his third helping of pasta. “I think I know someone who goes there.”

Everyone looked at Wally, who was still shovelling food into his mouth. Linda frowned at him. “You’d better not be getting mixed up in all that, Wally.”

“I’m not!”

“Because Mason is the one covering it at the paper, and they’re looking at some pretty messed up stuff.”

“I swear, I’m not,” Wally repeated. Then a small smile spread on his face. “Why? Are you worried about me?”

“Yeah, Lin,” Iris asked, balancing her chin in her hand. “Why this concern for Wally all of a sudden?”

“I’m not _worried_ about him,” Linda said quickly. “You know, more than the fact that he’s practically family. I just don’t want to have to listen to Iris go on about how irritating you are for getting in trouble. Ahem, is there any more pasta?”

“Right,” Iris nodded, and looked at Barry, who had a small smile on his face.

And Joe West looked at Barry and Iris, who were practically beaming at each other, and at Wally grinning into his food at the prospect of Linda being worried about him, and at Linda trying not to blush, and decided that maybe now was a good time to open the brandy.

***

“Whatever happens, don’t let me do shots.”

“You say that every time we go out. And then we _both_ end up doing shots.”

“But this time I’m serious.”

Iris just laughed and walked faster to the bar where they were meeting Eddie for drinks. They’d both had a very long Monday and honestly, Iris just wanted to get drunk. She and Linda entered the bar and were immediately assailed by the smell of buffalo wings and alcohol. The bar was pretty full; everyone looked like they’d had the same idea as Linda and Iris. “So, where is Detective Pretty Boy? He said he’d be here.”

But then Iris spotted the figure of Eddie Thawne at the back of the room, and she grabbed Linda’s hand and led them over. When she got close, she poked him in the ribs. “Hey, pretty boy.”

“Iris!” Eddie turned and hugged them both. “Linda! I haven’t seen you guys in a while, how are you?”

“And whose fault is that?” Linda wanted to know. “We live in the same city, Eddie.”

“But _we_ didn’t,” Iris pointed out, hugging Eddie again. “And now you’re leaving and we’re barely going to get to hang out with each other before you go. Where’s Bette?”

“Yeah, where’s your more badass half?”

“You know, I’d be more insulted, but she did serve in Afghanistan.”

Iris gave him a sympathetic smile at Eddie’s slightly sad look. She had known him since she was a teenager and she hadn’t been around when he met Bette, but she did know that she had never heard him talk about anyone the way he talked about her. “When is she going back?”

“January,” he replied. “We’re having the wedding in November and then the honeymoon and Christmas. It’s her last tour, so…”

“And she’ll be back before you know it,” Linda said firmly. “And you guys will go off and make pretty, badass babies together and you’re going to name one of them Linda.”

“Okay, Lin-Lin, whatever you say,” Eddie answered. “Bette should be here any minute; she had to go talk to General Eiling about something and he spends all his time at STAR Labs these days.”

“Wait, what?” Iris frowned in the middle of browsing the drinks menu. “What’s the army doing at STAR Labs?”

“General Eiling and Harrison Wells are doing some research experiment on how to make soldiers more intelligent. Bette doesn’t know much about it, being a bomb expert, but apparently they’ve been disagreeing on the test subjects.”

“What about the test subjects?”

But Eddie shrugged helplessly. “I really don’t know, Iris. Ask Bette when she gets here.”

“Maybe I should ask Barry when I see him tomorrow,” she said. Linda made to say something, but then she spotted something behind Iris. “Or maybe you can ask him right now.”

Iris turned to see Barry walk into the bar, followed by Bette and a group of people she’d never seen before. They were a woman and two men, and they seemed to know Barry pretty well from the way they were all talking and laughing. Eddie waved them all over – apparently he knew them too – and Barry brightened when he saw Iris. “What are you doing here? Do you guys know each other too?”

“Linda, Iris and Eddie went to high school together,” Bette explained as she came over to kiss her fiancé. “Hey, handsome.”

“Oh, that means you must know-”

“Hey, it’s Wally!” Eddie interrupted loudly. “Look, Wally’s here!”

Everyone looked and Eddie was right, but Iris did wonder why he interrupted Barry like that. “What, are you guys having a party and you didn’t invite me?” Wally wanted to know. “You’re the worst.”

“Guys, this is Dr Caitlin Snow, Ronnie Raymond, and Cisco Ramon,” Barry introduced them. “You guys, this is Iris West, she’s writing the article on STAR Labs. And this is Linda Park and Wally West.”

“CSI the Dork, you have friends?” Wally said, impressed. The shorter man – Cisco, Iris remembered – turned to look at him. “Who’s this young blood nicknaming Barry? That’s my job.”

“This should be good,” Caitlin muttered. “It’s nice to finally know who’s writing about us, Iris. Is the article going well?”

“It is, actually,” Iris smiled back. “Barry’s been very helpful.”

“Barry’s a dweeb,” Cisco said dismissively. “Plus, he doesn’t even work there. If you really want some help, you should talk to the person that many of our visitors have called the light of STAR Labs.”

“Really, Cisco?” Ronnie asked.

“Mm, okay. Heart. Yeah, ‘heart’ sounds better.”

“Okay, that’s all awesome,” Linda interjected. “But I had to teach one of the interns the difference between a touchdown and a freethrow, and I’m pretty sure it took years off my life. Why aren’t we drinking?”

“I’ll get the orders,” Wally said helpfully.

“Sure they won’t card you at the bar?” Eddie grinned.

“I’m not sure you should be asking me about being carded with your boy Barry standing over there with his baby-face having self,” Wally replied, and Iris elbowed him.

“And I don’t think you should be talking when I’m pretty sure those ears could fly us all across the Atlantic.”

“Don’t talk to me about my ears, short stuff.”

“Short stuff?” Iris demanded, and Wally frowned.

“I’m sorry, is someone talking?” he waved his free hand over Iris’ head, ignoring her look of annoyance. “I mean, I sure I can hear someone, but there’s no one there.”

“Wallace Rudolph West-”

“It seems to me,” Cisco interrupted, coming to stand in between the two of them with his hand on their shoulders, “that you two need to settle this. Might I suggest a friendly game of darts?”

“Oh, there’ll be nothing friendly about this,” Iris said, rolling her sleeves up. “Because apparently my brother misses me giving him a good asskicking.”

Wally grinned. “Ladybirds first.”

It was about two hours later, after Iris had beaten Wally at darts and Linda taught Caitlin and Ronnie how to make a Long Island Iced Tea and Eddie, Bette and Cisco finally got control of the jukebox, that Iris found herself next to Barry as he nursed his beer. She was happy-drunk, just past tipsy but nowhere near hammered, and she nudged him with her shoulder when she sat down. “You okay? How’s the head?”

“A lot better, actually. Despite all the Michael Jackson,” he added, and they both looked at Cisco and Wally, who were both trying to teach Caitlin how to moonwalk to the pounding beat of ‘Billie Jean'.

“Your friends are really cool,” she said. Barry looked at her.

“Thanks. And, um, I just wanted to say I really appreciate this. I mean, whenever something like that happens to me they usually just want to forget about it, and I’m terrible at relationships anyway, but you’re cool and I don’t want to make things awkward for the article.” He paused. “I just, uh…I’m glad you’re my friend, Iris.”

Iris beamed at him. “Well, I’m glad to be your friend, Barry. Ask Linda, I’m an awesome…Shit.” Iris turned to see that Linda was at the other end of the bar, doing shots with Ronnie. “Oh, that’s not supposed to happen. Okay, maybe ask Linda on Wednesday about how much of a great friend I am.”

“Okay,” he laughed. “And before I forget, um…Are you sure no one knows about what we did? Because I’m pretty sure I saw cameras at CCPN.”

Iris laughed. “Don’t worry about that, Barry. I took care of it.”

“You did? How?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” she said lightly. She downed her drink. “Finish that.”

“Why?”

“Because I haven't yet kicked your ass at darts, Barry Allen.”

When they finally got home (a lot more drunk than they’d intended; Linda was going to _kill her_ ), Iris considered Barry’s words. She hadn’t really been thinking about getting caught when she’d had her legs wrapped around Barry’s waist, but she sure as hell didn’t want to get fired for fucking a guy in her desk chair in the first week. Barry didn’t know, but the video footage of their incredibly unprofessional behaviour was currently sitting in a parcel on her desk.

Iris had walked out of CCPN that night and dialled the fourth number on her speed dial after her dad, Wally and Linda. It was late, she knew, but her friends in Star City hardly ever slept. It was picked up on the first ring and Iris had smiled. “Hey, it’s me. I kind of need a favour.”

And because she was just as awesome and wonderful and resourceful as she was all those years ago when Iris met her in freshman year, Felicity Smoak was grinning as she said, “Anything for you, babydoll.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for all the terrible jokes in this, I couldn't resist. Also, I wish the bar scene could have been more of them talking, but I felt it was just getting needlessly long at that point. There'll be plenty of team shenanigans in the future though! Thanks for reading and commenting!


	8. The Scientist and the Arrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Barry reminisces about some old friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK so I know said that Central City was supposed to be St Louis like it is on the show, but since that's a little ridiculous considering that Team Arrow are always showing up in the blink of an eye and Star City has to be on the west coast, I'm moving Central City to Portland in Oregon. Yes, I know it doesn't really matter. It will annoy me, lol. Disclaimer: bits of dialogue and plot are taken from the Arrow episodes 'The Scientist' and 'Three Ghosts' - all rights belong to the writers of those episodes.

It didn’t matter that he lived in Star City and ran around in a green hood shooting criminals or that he found Barry’s exuberance about his activities – or even any exuberance about anyone doing anything, really – Oliver Queen always managed to show up in Barry’s life.

He wasn’t thinking about that, of course, when he went to work on Tuesday morning. He was thinking about the night before, hanging out with all of his friends, and feeling for the first time in a long time that he belonged somewhere. Barry was trying to let this good mood carry him over for the rest of week for the devastating anniversary that he knew was coming up – he’d have to discreetly ask Captain Singh for some time off, because they both knew he was worse than useless at this time of year because of it – and for the most part it was working. It was helped by the fact that Iris was messaging him. A conversation, he noted, that had been on and off since around four o’clock that morning. Iris truly had no concept of time when she was working; Barry didn’t even think she was tired from last night.

_I want a rematch._

We had a four rematches, Iris. I still won.

_You cheated._

I didn’t cheat.

_I am amazing at darts. I beat everyone._

I guess I’m special.

_It must be your height. I don’t know how I’m expected to beat you and your ridiculous height. You’re like a baby giraffe._

Actually, an effective darts player is based mostly on stance and technique; height has nothing to do with it. If anything, my height and the length of my limbs should hinder me because I’d be tempted to use the power from them to throw instead of throwing from the hands, which is how you’re supposed to throw darts.

Iris didn’t reply for a full twenty seconds and he paused outside of the precinct, wondering if he’d already freaked out his newest friend with his absurd levels of geekiness, but then she replied with a series of laughing emojis.

_You’re such a NERD, Barry. What are you doing after work?_

Something with you, I’m guessing?

_You’re so smart. I need to pick your brains about something sciency. Jitters at five?_

See you there. Have a nice day :)

_You too_.

Barry pocketed his phone just as he spotted Captain Singh walking out of his office and seeing him. And Barry swallowed, because Captain Singh usually looked at him with a combination of utter disbelief at how Barry had managed to fuck up something else, and like he was trying to refrain from strangling him. But none of that was on his face today, which is why Barry was freaked out. Instead, there was something like worry and pity in his eyes, and when the smartly-dressed woman followed him out of the office, he knew what was going on, and his heart sank.

“Captain Singh,” he nodded, once they had met in the middle of the atrium. He looked at the woman. “Doctor Crane.”

“Mr Allen, it’s good to see you again,” he replied. She looked at him with motherly concern and his heart twisted. “How’s your head?”

“Completely fine,” he answered truthfully. “Uh, is there a problem? Because I have a lot of work to do…”

Captain Singh cleared his throat. “Why don’t we go into my office, Allen?”

Barry looked between the two of them and sighed inwardly. Oh, yeah, he definitely knew what this was about. “Of course, sir.”

“The first thing I have to do is apologise, Mr Allen,” Doctor Crane said once they had sat down. “On behalf of the hospital, I have no idea how something like this could have happened.”

Barry frowned. Maybe he _didn’t_ know. “I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about.”

“The hospital called the station because they found your CSI badge in your wallet,” Captain Singh explained, “and I told Joe to go and get you. I also informed them that they should take care to do a thorough examination because of events that unfolded when…when you were a teenager.”

Barry focused very hard on the red fabric of his shoes. _I’m okay. I’m fine_. “Right.”

“Mr Allen, there must have been some sort of mistake with your medical records,” Doctor Crane continued. “It appears that there was a mix-up with National City General Hospital, and none of your medical records before the age of twenty-one were transferred over when you changed hospitals. I was informed of Captain Singh’s request once you were admitted under my care, but I thought it must have been a mistake because the only major thing on your record was a brief period of stomach flu two years ago. I contacted the hospital and they informed me of the extent of…That is to say-”

“They told you about the three broken ribs, dislocated shoulder, black eye and concussion?” he asked, looking up from his shoes. He smiled blandly, gesturing to his head. “Looks like I’m two for two.”

Captain Singh looked at him. As far as Barry was aware, his boss was the only one who knew everything that happened, from the time when he was eleven to now: his mother being murdered and his father being given a life sentence for it, and the fact that ‘Barry Allen’ had become synonymous with ‘crazy’ as he grew up because he insisted that his father had been killed by a strange man in a yellow suit, complete with red lightning. The Captain obviously hadn’t told anyone else, but Barry knew that he must have gotten it from his psychiatric records.

“I know you must be going through a hard time,” he was saying to him now. “I know what time of year it is.”

“I’m fine, sir.” The smile was still on his face; Barry didn’t think he could get rid of it until he was alone.

“I’ve always said, you can talk to the precinct therapist, if it would help-”

“I don’t need to see the therapist.” If he never saw a therapist again he’d be happy. “Thank you, sir.”

Doctor Crane turned to him and that motherly look was back on her face, and Barry wanted to run away from it. “I strongly recommend you do so, Mr Allen. What happened to you was-”

“What happened to me was in the past,” he interrupted firmly. “They were just bruises. He was convicted, remember? I’m okay. I’m fine.”

His face must have been sufficiently convincing, because neither of them pushed the subject. “I can’t force you,” she said. “But that wasn’t the reason I came here. Neither of the concussions you sustained were particularly serious, but I still have to recommend you come in for a check up some time in the next two weeks, especially if you display any other symptoms. Today, preferably.”

“I have work-”

“You can take the rest of the day off after lunch, Barry,” the captain interrupted. “There’s one crime scene over on Fifth, then you can do the report and go home. Apparently there was a shootout in the one of the Bertarelli restaurants.”

Barry blinked, because now Captain Singh was calling him by his name. Maybe he’d be bringing him lunch and knitting him socks next. “O-Okay, sir. Thank you.”

After he made the appointment with the doctor and grabbed his stuff, Barry made his way down to the crime scene, where he could see that everyone had gathered around the crime scene. Joe waved him over. “So, what do we got?”

“Apparently there was a violent confrontation that resulted in a shootout,” Joe replied, consulting his notes. “Witnesses report seeing a masked figure enter the building at around four o’clock this morning, but no one could see what they were wearing. All they know is, they woke up and all the buildings were shattered and all these bodies were lying around.”

“Dead?”

“A few. We’ve taken some of them in for questioning. They were all wearing masks, though. You know what to do.”

Barry immersed himself in his work, carefully taking in blood samples and hair fibres and gun residue. He found, from listening to the detectives as they asked questions and the people as they milled about discussing the scene, that apparently there had been some sort of shady business meeting going down, when suddenly the whole restaurant had exploded in gunshots and violence.

It wasn’t until he was doing a final sweep of the area before he went back to the lab to analyse the results that he noticed it. Of course, that was his job as the CSI, to look for clues like that, but he was still surprised that no one noticed. Someone had informed the detectives that some sort of explosive noise was one of things that had alerted them to what was going on, but Barry suspected that everyone was so concerned with finding out what happened that they hadn’t bothered to analyse _where_ the explosion had come from until Barry found it himself. Upon first glance, it just looked like someone had tacked an incendiary device to the door, but after looking at it for a while, he recognised that the centre of the blast radius was very, very small.

It was also shaped like an arrowhead.

He knew it then, of course, but it was his analysis in the lab that confirmed it. The residue left on the sides of the hole came from a very specific type of explosive and held traces of a very specific blend of metal and plastic. The only person who used that kind of explosive arrows was the Arrow himself. Barry knew, because Oliver Queen had thwacked him with one for talking too much once, even after he’d saved his life. There was a time when he had been excited to meet the Arrow, but that had faded away once he’d actually met the guy.

***

“…honestly, I really think that he trained somewhere on an island,” Barry rambled, completely unaware that Felicity Smoak probably wouldn’t want to hear his theories on the Arrow’s fashion choices. Especially since she probably already knew everything about the Arrow. “That explains the green, because really, in a city landscape, it doesn’t really do much in the way of camouflage.”

“Right.”

“And how does he keep his identity concealed? I mean, the hood is great, but what if it falls off? And I’m assuming there’s a voice box, does he have a voice box?”

“I’ll have to ask him.”

“And do you know whether he-”

“Barry,” Felicity finally looked up, smiling, from where they were analysing the samples of the metal filings found at the crime scene. “One of the things that comes with working with a masked vigilante who shoots arrows is that I can’t actually answer these questions. Any of them. Even if I wanted to. So do you mind if we talk about something else?”

Barry smiled and shook his head. He liked Felicity. He _really_ liked Felicity. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had heard him rambling and hadn’t looked like they wanted to throw a book at his head. When he’d walked onto the crime scene, Oliver Queen and his terrifyingly buff bodyguard both looked at him in that ‘I thought nerds like this only existed in fiction’ kind of way, so he was grateful that he was allowed to use their facility while Oliver went off and did whatever it was that billionaire playboys who came back from the dead did in their free time.

“I’m sorry. Of course I don’t mind talking about something else. How long have you been working for Oliver?”

“A few years,” Felicity replied, shrugging. She narrowed her eyes and tapped a few buttons. “Give or take.”

“What’s that like? I mean, he’s _Oliver Queen_. Queen Consolidated is on track to surpass Wayne Enterprises and even LutherCorp they keep up the way that they’re going.”

“Oliver’s great,” she replied absently. “Except, you know, that whole thing where he only talks in monosyllables tends to rub off on me.” She looked up in alarm, her eyes wide. “And by that I mean my personality. There’s no other kind of…rubbing. None whatsoever. Um. We also get full dental. It’s very cool.”

Barry nodded, a small smile on his face. “Of course. And what kind of stuff do you do for him? I mean, you’re calling yourself his assistant, but I’ve never seen an assistant who can run complex data analyses like you can.”

Felicity grinned at him and he felt himself blush. “You should see what I can do with a centrifuge.”

“You have one here? Because back home we have-”

“Home,” a firm voice interrupted. Oliver stepped out of the shadows, his face devoid of emotion. Oh no, wait…Yeah, there was definitely some anger there. Yikes. “Where did you say that was again, Barry?”

“Central City,” he replied easily. “It’s a few miles away by train.”

“And you said you’re a CSI for the CCPD?”

“Uh-huh,” Barry nodded. Oliver didn’t need to know that his title was technically ‘CSI assistant’ and that he only did most of the work because all of the people superior to him could get away with dumping everything on him. “Blood collection and DNA analysis – awesome, huh?”

Oliver nodded. “Right. Awesome. And interesting because I’ve just spoken to Captain Singh of the CCPD and the only person named Barry Allen on their roster is a CSI assistant who is currently supposed to be at home with food poisoning. I was also interested to learn that nobody authorised your presence here because they’ve never actually dealt with _similar cases_ before.” Oliver folded his arms, eyes flashing darkly, and looked at him. “So, Barry Allen. Do you mind telling me what the hell you’re doing here?”

***

Barry shrugged on his coat as he walked out of the precinct and made his way towards Central City Memorial, his collar turned up against the cold. He knew that Captain Singh was looking out for him, which was why he didn’t seem to care that the report that he’d handed in before he left was probably unforgivably rushed. He walked out before he could dwell on that pitying look for too long.

He did, however, consistently refuse to see that fucking therapist. He had no desire to listen to someone with a white coat and an insipid smile telling him that his mind was just excited when his mother was killed and that he was rationalising what happened when he had to talk to the police. The relatives that had taken him in – with as much enthusiasm as branding themselves with hot pokers – had forced him to go to one for years until he accepted what had really happened. Or, in truth, until he learned effective ways to convince them that he believed it.

Since then, he had learned how not to tell anyone the truth of himself, and that everything he was and everything he did was to get his father out of prison. Well, apart from that first time in high school with a girl that he really shouldn’t have trusted, and that brief foolish period in college when he thought he could actually be happy. But he was a grown-up now, superhero cartoons and video games aside, and he knew better. He also knew that the only way to get his father out of prison was through cold, hard facts. And the only person who was going to look for them was himself. Because Henry Allen was the one person in the world who had always believed in him, in his power to find the truth, even though he had failed thus far.

Barry stopped and clenched his jaw as he came to a stop outside of the hospital, the outpatient appointment slip curling between his hands. He truly liked Doctor Crane and he appreciated that she was so concerned for him, but if she gave him that caring, motherly look again, he knew he’d be tempted to go and see that goddamn therapist. Even though he knew that they wouldn’t believe him.

Nobody ever believed Barry Allen.

***

The room had gone deadly silent, and Barry’s heart and stomach were somewhere in his shoes. Felicity was looking at him with such a betrayed expression that he wanted to go and curl up in a corner somewhere under a rock. Oliver, meanwhile, simply looked like he wanted nothing more than to hit him _with_ a rock. Or maybe his fists would do the same amount of damage. “I…”

“By all means, Barry, don’t say anything,” Oliver said tightly. “You’re going to get thrown out of this place either way, so-”

“Oliver!” Felicity interrupted. “Just…Take it easy okay?” She turned to Barry. “What is he talking about?”

Barry swallowed. “He…I told you that my mother was murdered-”

“By your father,” Oliver snapped.

“He didn’t do it,” Barry replied calmly, more calmly than that insinuation always made him feel. He explained the story of how his mother was killed by a red blur and when his father went to fight it, Barry found himself twenty blocks away. When he got back, they were arresting his father for a murder he knew he hadn’t committed.

“That’s why I look for cases like this,” he finished. “If I can just make sense of one, maybe I can find out what happened to my mother and free my father.”

“Barry,” Oliver said quietly, and he was at least grateful that Oliver wasn’t looking at him like something you’d scrape off the back off his shoe anymore. “I know you think that’s what you saw, and I’ve been in traumatic situations before-”

“ _He didn’t do it_!” Barry retorted, and Oliver gave a shake of his head, and Barry hated him. It didn’t matter that he was Oliver Queen and Felicity said he was a great boss and everyone seemed so, so happy to have him back; in that moment, Barry hated him. Because he had been seeing that look since he was eleven and he was _tired_ of it. He was sick of everyone looking at him like he was just a desperate boy lying to get his father back. Of course he was desperate, but he wasn’t a liar, not about this. _He wasn’t_.

“Barry,” Felicity started, but he was tearing off his gloves. He knew from the look on Oliver’s face that he was done here and he didn’t want to spend another moment in Star City with the two of them looking at him like that, with that pity and concern and disbelief, especially since Captain Singh apparently knew he had been lying when he called in sick. He didn’t want to prolong the inevitable asskicking he’d get; that would just make it worse.

“It’s okay, it’s fine,” he muttered. He gave Felicity one last apologetic look. “I guess you’d better find another plus one for tonight.”

***

“Twizzlers.”

“Red Vines.”

“Twizzlers!”

“ _Red Vines_.”

“Red Vines are made from the blood of murdered kittens,” Cisco said from behind his burrito. “I have no idea why you eat them.”

“Because Twizzlers should be banned by the Food and Drug Administration,” Ronnie replied.

“The next person who mentions a Twizzler or a Red Vine is going to have both shoved up their rectum,” Caitlin said calmly, not looking up from her salad. Cisco started to laugh but Ronnie, looking at his fiancée’s face, shook his head. “Uh-uh. She’s not playing right now, dude. Um, sorry honey,” he said, kissing her on the cheek.

Barry smiled into his fries and tried to pretend like he was working on his lesson plans. By some stroke of luck, Dr Wells had given Cisco, Caitlin and Ronnie the afternoon off as well, so when he decided to go and hang out at STAR Labs after his appointment at the hospital, he found them all sitting in the lounge. He figured that he could chill with them before he went to meet Iris. Instead of doing his lesson plans – well, _finishing_ them, because he’d most definitely made a start on them before getting sucked into watching another one of Cisco and Ronnie’s arguments – he was browsing True North’s blog after her latest post.

_Hey guys,_

_Thanks for all of your messages! It’s really good to be back and see that so many of you are still following me here in Central City. This is going to be pretty short because I haven’t managed to follow up on any of the big leads yet (new job), but I figured you’d want something to keep you all occupied before I got into the juicier stuff:_

  * _Apparently our old friend the Calendar Man has a copycat, or he’s broken out of jail, because I heard that a costume shop in Gotham was held up by a man dressed as Christopher Columbus (I usually just stay in and watch reruns on Columbus Day, but I guess that’s one way to do it) …while he stole several Halloween costumes, a Thanksgiving turkey costume (why is anyone even_ selling _those?), and a Santa costume. I’ve already told Gotham City Police Department, so be on the lookout for Christopher Columbus or a giant talking turkey. No, I am not making this up._
  * _People here in Central City, please be careful when going down to the docks, especially at night. I can’t say anything until the police make their official announcement (hey, I’m not looking to get arrested for inciting fear), but just know there’s some really freaky stuff going on. If you can’t avoid it, please don’t go alone, and if you see anything weird or dangerous-looking, contact the Central City Police Department (number at the bottom of the page)._



_So that’s all I have to tell you – now I need you to tell me some stuff:_

  * _What does everyone think of Harrison Wells and the Particle Accelerator? Word on the street is that he’s a pretty cool guy, but there are some people who don’t feel the same way._
  * _What in HOLY HELL happened at the Sun Dial Church? I know some of you know. Don’t act all innocent with me._
  * _I know I said not to worry about what happened in Coast City, but then I got a load of messages about something green falling out of the sky…?_



_That’s all for now. Hope everyone’s doing great._

_As always, believe in the impossible._

_True North_

Barry was just about to type out a reply to True North’s question about Dr Wells when he noticed that Cisco was not so surreptitiously reading it over his shoulder. “I didn’t know you still read that.”

He laughed. “I never stopped reading it.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Caitlin asked.

“True North’s blog,” Cisco replied around a mouthful of beans before Barry could say anything. Ronnie frowned at him. “Dude, say it, don’t spray it.”

Caitlin pursed her lips. “Right.” Barry rolled his eyes, but didn’t say anything. He was long used to the fact that there were some people who thought True North was nothing but a crazy person chasing wild stories. Barry had met people like that, and most people had no trouble saying exactly that to his face, along with a few good insults to his intelligence for good measure. Caitlin was not one of those people, but she never quite succeeded in hiding her disdain for True North and her actions. Barry did take heart, however, in the fact that not everyone was like that.

***

“So Oliver Queen is the Arrow,” Barry said for about the millionth time that day. He and Felicity were sitting in the Foundry eating Big Belly Burger after the events of the day. “I never would have thought it. Although it does make a lot of sense.”

“What does?” Felicity asked.

“Why he’s so fucking grumpy all the time,” he replied. “If I had to run around shooting people at all hours of the night, I’d be grumpy too.”

They laughed together as they finished their dinner. Honestly, the last thing that Barry had expected, as he was lamenting the fact that not only would he get the mother of all asskickings from Captain Singh due to missing the last train back to Central City, but he’d also miss the turning on of the Particle Accelerator, was to be shot in the neck with a tranquiliser dart and asked (very nicely) by Felicity Smoak to save her friend. Oliver Queen. Who happened to be the Arrow.

After pumping him with rat poison (and Barry got the feeling that he’d never be forgiven for that, even if it had saved Oliver’s life), Barry had watched as he experienced hallucinations that neither Felicity nor Diggle were willing to explain to him – at first. Once Oliver started attacking things, then they’d been as forthcoming as they needed to be to stop Barry from freaking out about the six-foot-tall man who kept destroying things with his bare hands. Granted, Oliver hadn’t been too pleased to find out that the nerdy CSI from Central City knew his secret. And he hadn’t been too pleased with the questions, either, especially the one about why he wore makeup. Barry remembered the blank stare Oliver had given him when he asked about the makeup, and shuddered. He was pretty sure the only thing he’d ever have going for him in the way of Oliver Queen was the fact that he had saved his life that one time.

“Do you think Oliver’s gonna be okay?” she asked quietly, and Barry looked at her. He truly did like Felicity, and during their dance at the Queen Manor he felt like he was floating on clouds just by having her look at him, but he wasn’t an idiot. He recognised the way Felicity looked at Oliver when he wasn’t looking, and he knew that Oliver’s dislike of him wasn’t purely because he was an outsider.

“Oliver will be fine,” Barry replied. “Whatever he was experiencing was psychological, and you said he’d worked it out, right? He seemed fine before he left.”

“Oh great,” she sighed in relief. “Thank god.”

“You were worried?”

“ _Yeah_ …No! I mean, well, of course I was _worried_ , he’s my boss and he’s my friend, and…” Felicity trailed off at the look on Barry’s face. “And you are not buying any of this at all, are you?”

“Look, I get it,” he said, shrugging. He tried to hide the little twinge of sadness he felt, because Felicity was one of the few people he’d ever met who was just like him, with the added bonus of being absolutely gorgeous. “He’s Oliver Queen – billionaire by day, saving the world by night.”

Felicity bit her lip. “Right. He’s Oliver Queen, a billionaire who has his pick of women, even, as you heard, on an unchartered island in the North China sea.”

“Right. But I’ve known you guys for what, three days? If _I_ can see that Oliver would obviously be lost without you, then-”

Barry broke off as his computer let off an alert for something and Felicity leaned forward. “Oh, is that the report from the-”

“No,” Barry said quickly, feeling his face heat up, but it was too late: True North’s blog post had already popped up on his screen. “That’s, um…”

“Oh, you read True North’s blog?” Felicity inquired, smiling. He stared at her, open-mouthed. Usually when he mentioned he read it that people looked at him like he had a turnip for a head.

“Y-Yeah, I do. You work with her sometimes, don’t you?”

“We help each other, occasionally. So I’m guessing you read about all her exploits in finding the Calendar Man and Catwoman and the Scarecrow? To try and find something to help your dad’s case?”

Barry nodded enthusiastically. “I’ve been following her blog since I was a teenager, and I always wanted to follow up on one of her cases, but she’s always moving! She’s incredible! How does she do it? Does she have a team as well? Is she like the Arrow? Wait – do you know her? Could you-”

“Barry,” she interrupted firmly. “I’m sorry, I can’t tell you anything about her. She’s pretty private, and she’s… She’s kind of going through a really hard time right now.”

He sighed. Story of his life. “That’s okay. I guess I wouldn’t like it if some random guy came up to me and demanded help in investigating a convicted murderer.”

“But,” she added, “between you and me, I know it would mean a lot to her that you’ve been reading for so long. And you should keep chasing the impossible, Barry.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because chasing something means you’re running somewhere. And running somewhere means you care.”

Barry smiled at her. “Thanks. And, um, I know I unloaded a lot on you, about my mom, but I’d appreciate it if you and Oliver and Diggle didn’t tell-”

“Your secret is safe with me.”

“Thanks,” he said, standing up. “So, I have to go, but it was really nice meeting you, Felicity. And tell Oliver that I left something for him for Christmas. You know, if he doesn’t want to wear the makeup anymore.” He paused. “I think that would sound better coming from you.”

She smiled. “Bye, Barry.”

“Bye, Felicity.”

***

Barry finished off the last of his fries as the thought about Felicity and Oliver and Diggle and all the things he’d gotten up to while he was in Star City. He talked to Felicity occasionally and usually offered them help whenever they needed it, but they were generally good on their own., and they’d never come to Central City for anything before. If Oliver was shooting arrows in people in downtown restaurants, _something_ strange must be going on here. Maybe he was working with True North again. He made a point to remember to call Oliver before the day was over.

“So Barry, you up for some not-quite-allowed-and-will-probably-get-us-in-trouble experimentation in the heart of STAR Labs?” Ronnie asked. “Hartley’s spending all day in his office so we have free reign over all the cool toys.”

Caitlin frowned. “God, is he still sulking? I knew he was stubborn, but this is ridiculous.”

“What’s with Hartley?” Barry asked. “You know, other than his usual assholery.”

“We came into work yesterday and he was arguing with Dr Wells,” Caitlin explained. “Something about the viability of the…metal…things…”

“You’re so lucky I love you,” Ronnie said, stroking her hair fondly. “Hartley doesn’t seem to think the Accelerator will be able to withstand the energy blasts when its turned on. Then Dr Wells called him out on it and he’s been sulking ever since.”

“Ha! It was embarrassing,” Cisco said, a Twizzler hanging out of his mouth. “If he wasn’t such a dick – and if Dr Wells hadn’t signed off on _our_ idea – I’d actually feel bad for the guy.”

“Huh,” Barry said faintly. Whatever they all said about Hartley, they all had one thing in common – they were all massive science nerds who worshipped the ground Dr Wells walked on. It was odd to think that they’d disagreed so strongly as to argue in public about it. “But, no, I can’t, actually. I’m meeting Iris later to talk about the article.”

“Oh, I see the boy’s got a date with Hot Scoop.”

“You have _got_ to stop calling her that,” Caitlin said to him. “I’m going for drinks with her and Linda on Friday and I don’t want to end up calling her ‘Hot Scoop’.”

“Besides, that’s a pretty mediocre nickname, Cisco,” Ronnie added.

“And it’s not a date,” Barry finished. “Iris and I are just friends.”

“Uh-huh,” Cisco said, unconvinced. “You mean you don’t think she’s hot?”

“I think that I work with her father and one of her best friends, and even though her little brother is shorter than me-”

“Everyone is shorter than you.”

“-he can still kick my ass.”

“Really?” Cisco wrinkled his nose. “But he’s just a little kid.”

“Don’t listen to him,” Caitlin said, waving a dismissive hand. “He’s just upset because both of us like ‘CSI the Dork’ better than any of the other nicknames Cisco has come up with.”

Cisco threw the last of his Twizzlers at them.

***

Barry did not have a lot of friends. He thought about that a lot this time of year, about having people around him to make him smile so he didn’t have to remember what the monster who murdered his mother had done to his family. He was going to visit his father later in the week, but he did just like talking to someone without double-glazed glass in the way. So it was important to him that someone as fun and caring as Iris wanted to be his friend. He did have to do something about that fluttering in his chest that happened whenever he saw her, though. Iris smiled brightly when she spotted him across the street from Jitters, her brown curls bouncing around her shoulders as she strode up to him. She looked stunning, but then Barry was starting to think that she looked breathtakingly good everyday.

“Barry!” she greeted him warmly. “Hey! I went to look for you at the precinct, but dad said you’d left for the day.”

“Oh yeah,” he nodded. “I had some stuff to figure out, and then I went to STAR Labs for a little while. So, what did you want to talk about?”

Iris bit her lip. “Um. Here’s the thing – I might have just been using you as an excuse to duck out of work early and eat cronuts.”

“I feel loved (!)”

“Hey, you agreed to be the CCPN science slave, and I’m the one who’s in charge of you.” Iris linked arms with him, apparently absent-mindedly, and began to pull him towards Jitters. “Besides, I do have some questions for you, just not any that will take more than half an hour. And then you can tell me all about what the hell happened at the Bertarelli restaurant this morning.”

“Yeah,” he laughed quietly. “Maybe.”

Iris stopped and turned her to face him. “Barry, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, why?”

“It’s just…You look all preoccupied. Pensive.”

He paused before answering. He didn’t know Iris that well – apart from the mind-blowing sex – and he didn’t think that they were in that part in their friendship where he could just say ‘this week is the anniversary of my mother’s murder by a strange yellow blur, and my father’s serving a life sentence for it’. But it was probably the first time that day he wasn’t seeing pity in someone else’s eyes. He shrugged. “Just tired, I guess.”

“Do you want to take a rain check?”

“No, it’s cool. Besides, I’ve never had a cronut before.”

Iris grinned at him and pulled open the entrance to Jitters. “Well, I can’t let that continue. They may be my second-favourite dessert after brownies, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not – _Felicity_!”

Barry frowned and then looked up to see that Oliver, Diggle and Felicity were standing in line for coffee. The only thing more shocking than seeing them in Central City was seeing Felicity, who had let out an excited squeal when she saw Iris – and had she called her ‘babydoll’? – run across the room and leap into her waiting arms, before both of them devolved into an energetic, rapid-fire conversation that left Barry, Oliver and Diggle standing there with their mouths hanging open.

“Oh,” Barry said to himself, “this’ll be good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I am terrible for ending it there. This chapter was very filler, but I promise I'll reveal everything...eventually. Thanks for reading and commenting ;)


	9. The Secret Origin of SmoakWest: Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a very perky Iris West meets a very goth Felicity Smoak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This a very long, possibly very messy chapter, but it's also one of my favourites, so I hope you like it! Thank you for being so patient!  
> TW: talk of stalking, minor violence.  
> This contains excerpts of the song 'Crazy in Love' by Beyonce Knowles. All credits go to the writers of that song.

_Six years previously…_

When Iris West was excited, she was _excited_. The day she started high school, she spent weeks agonising over her outfit, much to the annoyance of both her father and her brother. When she interned at the Star Sentinel the summer before before her senior year of high school, she spent a month researching all the fun things to do in the city. And that said nothing about her trip to London that her father had given her as a graduation present, for which she prepared for months.

So when her academic supervisor, incredibly impressed by the fact that this freshman student was so well-versed in so many aspects of criminal psychology, had selected her to go to a series of specialist seminars and modules being held at MIT, Iris made sure that everyone knew how excited she was. And that included her roommate, Dawn.

“I can’t believe you’re really going,” she said, flipping her bright red hair over her shoulder. “And to MIT! You’re not a science nerd.”

“Actually, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have one of the most respected Social Science, Arts and Humanities departments in the whole of the US,” Iris replied swiftly, lining up the last of her suitcases. “So I’m kind of a science nerd.”

“You got all of that from the brochure, and you know it. Are you ready?”

“I think so.” She grinned and bounced up and down. “It’s going to be _awesome_! Now if we leave now I think we’ll be cool…”

She kept talking as she rootled around for the directions and her tickets. Dawn was going to drive them both to the airport before they got on their separate flights – Iris to Massachusetts, and Dawn to Star City to visit her grandmother. They wanted to hurry to avoid the traffic, but they’d had to wait while Iris packed the last of her favourite shoes. “…so I think if we- _Dawn_!”

Her roommate turned to her with a sheepish grin on her face, trying to hide the little packet in her hand. “What?”

“You cannot be packing that. I thought you put them all in the brownies we made last week!”

Dawn shrugged. “I got more. Don’t worry, they’re not that strong. Besides, I need some way to relax if I’m going to spend all of this weekend around everyone singing the praises of _Dr Quinzel_.”

“And you think baking a batch of pot brownies and giving them to all of your relatives will help you relax?”

“I think it’ll make the reunion a lot more fun.”

Iris laughed and shook her head. Dawn had suffered with chronic pain since she was a child, and though a recent operation had managed to correct the problem with her nerves, she still occasionally had twinges of pain that got so bad that she sometimes got nauseous and couldn’t keep food down. That was where the doctor-recommended medical marijuana came in, though she must have been stressed because Iris hadn’t seen her take any in months. She gave her friend a sympathetic look.

“That bad?”

Dawn shrugged. “Well, Uncle Rudy got divorced again so Nana’s going to be crying into her pearls, and Cousin Pam got arrested again for protesting Gotham City developing those condos on top of the pasture where they have that endangered species of poison ivy. And then I’ll have everyone, absolutely _everyone_ , asking me what good a biomedical sciences degree if I don’t want to be a medical doctor. ‘Harleen just went the straightforward way and was pre-med, Dawnette. Have you heard what wonderful things Harleen is doing as a doctor, Dawnette? _Why aren’t you more like Harleen, Dawnette_?’”

“Are you okay?”

She snorted. “Please. I plan on having way more fun that Harley does. Sign me up for cool experiments and blowing shit up, thank you. Although she is really obsessed with this one patient she has at Arkham.”

Iris paused in the act of buttoning up her jacket. “Arkham Asylum? For the Criminally Insane?”

“That’s the one. There’s this one patient that she thinks she can save even though all of his other doctors think that he’s a lost cause. But, that’s Harley. Tell her she can’t do something and she’ll spend the rest of her life trying to prove you wrong.” She pulled on her coat and looked around. “Hey, have you seen my Mermaiden skin cream?”

“No, sorry.”

“Huh, I must be out. Well, at least I’m going to Star City this weekend; they’re the only place I can get that stuff. Oh, the joys of having skin as pale as milk.” She looked around at all their suitcases. “Okay, let’s go.”

***

Iris wheeled her suitcases through the college campus with all the trepidation of a new student, instead of a freshman who had already been at college for two semesters. Cambridge wasn’t as big as Gotham but it was a lot cleaner and less…dark. She had arrived an hour before and then taken a taxi to the college campus, where she was met with an overly chipper assistant who directed her to the campus office and told her where her dorm was and where to report the next day. She smiled brightly at Iris and handed her a bright pink folder full of information.

“Included in your pack are details of your seminars, your dining plan, and who to contact if you are in need of help. You’re on the top floor, and your roommate is…” she ran her finger down a list, scanning a list of names. “Felicity Smoak. Computer Science major, so that should be interesting for you!”

“Awesome,” Iris smiled. The helper showed her to the dorm, a lovely red-brick building on the other side of the street, and left Iris alone as she stood in front of the door and knocked. There was no answer, but Iris surmised that Felicity Smoak must be at a lecture or out shopping or something. The dorm was small, with a shared bathroom and doors that led to the separate rooms. She wasn’t sure how she felt about the décor, though; Felicity obviously liked things a little more monochrome than Iris did, who always decorated everything with brightly-coloured drapes and pictures of all her exploits and holidays. Maybe her new, apparently goth, roommate wouldn’t be averse to getting rid of the black curtains?

Iris unpacked and got herself settled, methodically putting everything away and noting where everything was. The day stretched on and Iris contemplated ordering a pizza for dinner as she browsed through the seminar plans and texted Linda (who was supposed to be covering a chess match but instead was flirting with a guy named Jimmy Olsen); everyone knew that pizza meant you had an instant bond. She perked up when she heard the door open and stood up, trying to put on her best smile. She did have to live with this person for the next three months, after all. She walked out into the lounge area. “Hi, you must be-”

“ _Ahhhhhh! What the fuck, who are you_?”

Felicity Smoak screamed so loud Iris thought they were being attacked and she jumped, her hands clamped over her ears. Felicity looked like she had seen a ghost, and appeared to be brandishing her laptop at her in terror. “Who are you,” she started shakily, her eyes darting around the room, “and what are you doing in my dorm?”

“I’m…I’m Iris West,” she said slowly, removing her hands from her ears. “You didn’t know I was coming?”

Felicity just stared at her a second, and Iris stared back. She was petite and pretty, with jet black hair with purple streaks running through them. Iris had been right about the goth thing – she was dressed in a black leather jacket, black skinny jeans, and a grey tank top with a skull necklace dangling around her neck. Her fingernails and her lips were painted black, and she was wearing so much eyeliner that she looked like a panda. Then her face cleared.

“No. No, they told me. I just…” Felicity let out a breath and lowered her laptop, seeming to notice how ridiculous it was as a weapon, before rubbing her face tiredly. “I just forgot, I guess. You’re the criminal psychology major, right? I’m Felicity-”

“Smoak, I know,” Iris interrupted, smiling again. “It’s so nice to meet you! Do you want to get pizza for dinner? I was hoping you-”

“I’m not hungry,” Felicity said quietly, her voice flat. She looked around the room once more as if searching for something, before shutting the door and slamming home all the bolts and locks that ran down the side of it (which Iris found highly suspicious, since everyone said that this dorm was incredibly safe). “Thanks.”

Iris blinked. “Oh, okay. Well, do you maybe want to hang out? I’d love to know all about MIT before I have to go to classes tomorrow.”

“I’m not feeling too great, to be honest. Actually, I’m gonna go to bed.”

She swallowed, deflated. This wasn’t going anywhere near the way she wanted it to, and Felicity looked distinctly uncomfortable around her. “O-Okay,” she said as Felicity turned towards her door. “It was nice to meet-”

Her new roommate slammed her door shut.

***

Felicity Smoak was a terrible sleeper.

That wasn’t something she told Iris. She just knew from the years of listening to Linda toss and turn during the night just after her parents got divorced and her father moved away, and she used to cry herself to sleep. Even through the walls, she knew what it sounded like when someone wasn't sleeping.

Iris knew she shouldn’t have been thinking about that when she was on her way to her first seminar. It was being held by a world-class expert in the origins of psychopathy, and Iris had read his book several times. She should have been excited by all the people who were smiling at her as she sat down, at the people who introduced themselves from all the different colleges across the country, and the sharp old man who was about to explain to them to difference between a sociopath and a psychopath. But instead, she was thinking about Felicity Smoak.

Iris was nothing if not determined, so after she had woken up that morning and taken her shower, she called on her new roommate to offer coffee and bagels. She didn’t reply, even when Iris knocked on the door. Maybe she wasn’t a morning person, although she did hear sounds of movement and what sounded like a computer – both of which stopped when Iris offered to make the coffee run.

Settling herself at the back of the seminar room, Iris opened up her blog and drummed her fingers on the desk. She had been in the middle of a story when she’d left for MIT, and the only problem with coming here so late in the year was that there was nothing to write about. Cambridge wasn’t like Gotham or Central City or even National City where their great-aunt Esther lived – it was a nice, normal place. Iris supposed, after running around all over the streets of Gotham after a rumoured criminal who called herself Poison Ivy, she should have been grateful for the change (even if she had brought along her brass knuckles, Taser, and the handcuffs she’d stolen from her father). Maybe work on something that was actually going to get her a job later in life.

Iris had always liked telling stories, ever since she was a child and her mother was no longer around to tell them for her. She wrote all the time, short stories and poetry and terrible, _terrible_ fanfiction that despite her embarrassment had made her a better writer. All through school, her teachers had praised her unique style of writing and ability to change her narrative voice depending on the situation. But writing had always been a hobby for her, a way to blow off steam and tell a little story to while away her time. What she really wanted to do was go into law enforcement like her dad, but Joe West had nipped that in the bud so fast it might as well have been a dream. She still remembered the uncomfortable period right before her senior year of high school, while she was waiting for her internship at the Star Sentinel to be accepted, where Iris and her father hadn’t spoken for three weeks because of her decision to join the police academy. Poor Wally had to be the mediator between two exceptionally stubborn people until Iris relented and withdrew her application – but not without a promise of a whole new wardrobe for her summer interning at the paper.

But she still wanted to make a difference, to solve mysteries and help people, so that was how her blog was born. It had started as a simple hobby of people sending in tips and then she had to find ways of explaining them, and even though her very first case had yielded no results, her big breakthrough came in the form of someone called the Rag Doll. It was this case, she thought, that made her realise that she was truly interested in the inner workings of the minds of criminals, and she understood why her father liked the job so much. Looking back, Iris supposed that it was part luck and part skill. It was also complete recklessness that could have gotten herself killed, and it was right then that she asked her father if she could start taking kickboxing classes again.

The Rag Doll was currently serving a life sentence in an enhanced wing of Iron Heights prison, but before that he was a skilled contortionist and hypnotist that also happened to be a master of disguise. He’d come to Wally’s middle school as a part of a treat for the end of semester and Iris had tagged along as well, fake-grumbling because she didn’t want to babysit her brother but secretly glad that she didn’t have to do her trigonometry homework or fret about the fact that the first case on her new blog turned out to be a dud. He was entertaining enough, twisting himself into different shapes and doing tricks, but Iris had never been a _huge_ fan of the circus. Still, she and Wally went and had fun and she bought them both loads of candyfloss, and she didn’t think anything of it until the next day, when one of the parents who’d gone along as well was arrested for trying to steal the Kahndaq Dynasty diamond from Central City museum. It was one of those weird, unexplainable crimes that Iris wrote down as potential for her blog, especially because Jerry Turner had vehemently denied it even as video footage of him doing it made the news.

Then it happened again. And again. And a fourth time, before Iris began to notice a pattern. She started to follow that travelling circus and paid particular attention to that man who claimed to be able to hypnotise people, calling up volunteers who insisted that nothing would happen to them. But then Iris started to notice something – they were right. The Rag Doll would pick a person bring them up so they had their back facing the audience, and proceed to ‘hypnotise’ them. That’s when Iris realised that in doing that, he was actually hypnotising _two_ people – the person in the chair, and the person _directly behind them in the audience_. The person in the chair got to monkey around onstage until the Rag Doll snapped them out of it, and the person who was behind them was usually arrested for some crime a few days later.

Iris couldn’t believe that she had discovered it, and she also couldn’t believe that no one else had mentioned it. She asked her father what the police thought about the spate of criminal activity, and was surprised to learn that they were dismissing it as crime going up because it was close to Christmas, and that it had nothing to do with the travelling circus (Iris would later learn that the Rag Doll had of course hypnotised every single detective that had come to interview them). So she got a disposable camera and her notebook, and went to six circus shows before she had enough evidence to say that the Rag Doll was behind everything. She even found out that a similar thing had happened in Keystone City to a woman named Joan Williams, but they’d never been able to find the culprit.

She carefully gathered her evidence and read several books on hypnotism, before she spent a whole weekend locked in her room putting it all together on her blog. The first thing she did was tell CCPD anonymously, but she gave them the truncated version with the pictures and her idea of the Rag Doll’s hideaway. Then when her dad had mentioned that they were bringing him in and the whole circus’ arrest made the news, she published the entire thing, pictures and evidence and everything. True North went from a bit blog that talked about conspiracy theories to an online legend, but Iris never told anyone it was her. Not even when it was all over the news, or when everyone at her high school was talking about it. She did make sure to go up to Violet Turner and tell her she was glad her father was out of prison, though. And her favourite supporter, the Scientist, had sent her a funny animated message with a dancing cat in a top hat that she still opened when she was feeling a little down.

None of that made Iris forget her _first_ case, though. In hindsight, maybe the whole thing was a little strange – a man in a yellow suit surrounded by red lightning responsible for a murder? It was a relatively simple case, though one that was over a decade old, and there was enough evidence to suggest that the woman had simply been murdered by her husband. Not to mention the fact that Iris knew that sometimes people just went crazy and murdered their loved ones. There were two reasons that Iris had even looked into that case: the first was that she’d seen a a blur of yellow red streak of lightning herself, but the second was that she’d heard from her dad that the child involved was so adamant that his father was innocent that the authorities had investigated it even more thoroughly than they normally would have. But it yielded nothing, and she knew that he’d moved away.

Iris paused in the middle of her voracious note-taking. The name. She couldn’t remember the boy’s – although she supposed he’d be around her age, not really a boy anymore – name. She frowned, wracking her brains. All she could remember was ‘Man in the Yellow Suit’, but that wasn’t the kid’s name, was it? Home. When she got back home to Central City for the summer, after she detoured to Gotham to get all her stuff, that was when she’d look and-

“Hey,” someone said from next to her. “Are you okay?”

It was a guy her age, with light brown hair and friendly blue eyes. Iris looked around to see that most people were starting to pack away as the lecturer wrapped up. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You just looked a little spaced out.”

“Just trying to remember something,” she replied. She smiled back at him and held a hand out. “Iris West.”

“Winn Schott,” he said, shaking her hand. “Are you from here?”

“Gotham. Well, I go to Northwestern, but I’m actually from Central City. You?”

“I go here, but I’m originally from National City,” Winn explained as they packed up their stuff and walked towards the quad. “So, are you actually a criminal psychology person, or are you like me?”

Iris raised her eyebrows. “And what are you like, Winn?”

He smiled sheepishly at her. “A computer science major who’s sick of looking at code and wants to do something interesting at the end of his semester.”

“Nah, I’m a criminal psychology person,” she laughed. “That’s my favourite thing to do, analyse the minds of serial killers. Hey, you said you’re a computer science major?”

“Yup. Just a whole class of nerds getting off to ones and zeroes.”

“My roommate does that – maybe you know her? Felicity Smoak?”

Winn’s face instantly fell, but he tried to hide it. “Smoak? Yeah, I know her, but not very well. Hey, what are you-”

“Winn?” Iris interrupted, narrowing her eyes. “You’re forgetting, I _am_ a ‘criminal psychology person’, and your entire face just changed the minute I said Felicity’s name. What was that about? Is she not… Is there something I should know?”

Winn looked at her, conflicted, before sighing. “I don’t really know how to explain it. Um, she was part of this…I guess it was a hacker group? I think that’s what it was. She and a couple of her friends did it for fun. It was nothing serious,” he added, seeing the incredulous look on Iris’ face. “They were all in our class, and we’re computer science majors, you know? We’ve all done the hacking thing, but we never did anything illegal, and neither did they. At least, that’s what we thought.”

Iris frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, a few months ago, we found out that Cooper – that’s her boyfriend, and Myron was their friend – was trying to get them to hack into the Department of Education and wipe out all the student loans. They wouldn’t do it and Felicity told the school authorities, but before they could punish him he disappeared. Just upped and left school. No one’s heard from him since, not even his parents.”

She blinked at him in surprise. While she was looking forward to the day when her student loans would disappear, she wasn’t about to rip off the US government to do it. For one thing, they had the guns. “So Felicity and Myron…”

Winn shrugged. “They didn’t know how far he’d gotten in doing it, but the next thing we knew, the FBI showed up and started asking them all these questions. Apparently he was into some seriously fucked up stuff. Thank god they didn’t do anything, you know? They could have gotten in some serious trouble, all because of that asshole Cooper Seldon. As far as I know, they still can’t find him. Myron transferred out to Stanford, I think, and Smoak…” He paused, rubbing his neck. “Look, most of us knew her, you know? She was always the best at computer stuff, but she’d never rub it in your face, and she’d always help you out when you were stuck, so it wasn’t like we were going to stop talking to her. But she stopped coming to classes and hanging out with us. If I didn’t see her at midterms, I’d think she transferred too. And she’s gotten kind of…paranoid.”

“Paranoid?”

“I heard that she thinks Cooper is going to come back for her, but why would he do that if the police are after him? His ex-girlfriend is the first place they’d look.”

Iris considered all of this. That certainly did explain Felicity’s odd behaviour – a stranger turning up in your room when you thought you were being followed had to have been freaky as fuck. “That explains…a lot,” Iris said slowly.

Winn didn’t look surprised. “Yeah, I’ll bet it does. Look, I have to go, but we’re having a party in a few weeks and it’d be cool if you came.” He handed her a flyer. “I hope you can make it.”

“I’ll try. It was nice meeting you, Winn.”

“You too, Iris.”

Iris watched him walk away before heading off to her own seminar – this time about the causes of psychopathy in adolescents – thinking of Felicity as she went. Now, a lot of Felicity’s behaviour made sense, and she felt bad that she hadn’t recognised the signs sooner. Winn was right and Felicity probably wasn’t in any real danger, but that didn’t make her feelings of the danger less real. It was no wonder she was so freaked out by Iris. By the time she got back, she was filled with renewed energy and purpose. She could talk to Felicity; everyone talked to Iris. Maybe they could make a brand new start and be friends.

Iris unlocked the door – really, she was going to have to find out why this door needed _so many locks_ – and was surprised to find that the door chain was on. She frowned, shoving on the door with her books. “Felicity?” No answer. “Felicity, it’s Iris! Are you in there?”

She almost toppled forward when the door sprang open suddenly, and Iris looked up to see Felicity glaring at her. “You need to find a new roommate.”

Iris stared at her. “What?”

“I said, you need to find a new roommate. I already told the house manager that I didn’t want a roommate, especially not one who listens to Beyoncé in the mornings.”

Iris ignored the insult and tried to remember that Felicity had a psycho ex-boyfriend who she thought was coming after her. “Look, Felicity, I know you don’t mean that. I heard about Cooper-”

“What?” she demanded. “Who told you about Cooper?”

“Winn. Felicity, there’s nothing to be ashamed of – I understand completely how you feel, but you’re safe here. The university won’t let anything happen to you.”

Felicity gave her a hard stare. “You talked to shot glass about me?”

Schott – shot glass. Iris had to admit that was funny. “I’m sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have done that, but he was worried about you.”

“He doesn’t know anything about me, and neither do you. Like I said, I don’t want a roommate, so you need to go to the house manager’s office and tell them you need to move somewhere else.” She turned and walked towards her room. “I’m busy tomorrow, but you’d better be gone before I get back.”

“Felicity-”

And for the second time in as many days, Felicity Smoak slammed the door in her face.

***

The next day didn’t go quite so well for Iris.

Not because of Felicity – Iris was trying her best not to think about that. She woke up late, so she didn’t have enough time to make her coffee properly and she was late for her first seminar. Then she spilled that coffee on some of her notes, and she wasn’t sure whether she’d be able to copy them from anyone else. By the time she got back to the dorm at the end of the day, all she wanted to do was call Linda and eat a pan of brownies and wait for the next day to start.

And then she got to the door, which was on the door chain again. Iris looked at it for exactly four seconds before turning on her heel and walking to the house manager’s office.

“I need to move somewhere else,” she said without preamble. The person at the desk regarded her and sighed. “Name?”

“Iris West. I’m from Northwestern in Gotham.”

She tapped at her computer. “I’m sorry, there aren’t any rooms available.”

“Are you sure? I don’t care where, really, I just need to move.”

“Is there a problem with your dorm? Or your roommate?”

Iris was _one_ bad incident away from telling the receptionist that Felicity Smoak was a horrible person and no one deserved the misfortune of living with someone so unpleasant. But then she remembered that not only had she paid to be here, but no one had the right to kick her out of something that she had worked her fucking ass off for. “You know what? Don’t worry about it, I’ll figure it out.”

Throwing her shoulders back, Iris strode with renewed purpose back to her dorm and banged on the door. “Let me in, Felicity.” No answer. Iris ground her teeth and pounded harder; with the day she’d had, she didn’t care how terrible she looked, and raised her voice. “I will stand out here all night if I have to, Felicity. I know you’re in there and-”

Felicity yanked the door open but Iris was ready this time; she stormed in past her and went straight to her room. “What are you doing here?” she snapped. “I told you to leave.”

“And I didn’t listen.”

“Iris-”

“Look, Felicity, I know you’re worried about that Cooper guy, but I can’t leave here and there’s nothing you can do to get rid of me. Believe me, I am _way_ more stubborn than you. So we can ignore each other or try to get along.” Iris folded her arms. “Either way, I’m not leaving.”

Felicity stared at her for about five seconds before sighing. “Fine, whatever. Just don’t talk about me anymore. If you don’t mind,” she added awkwardly.

This time, however, she didn’t slam the door, so Iris counted that as an achievement.

So they continued like that, with Iris going to her classes and seminars and social events, and Felicity doing…whatever it was she did. Mostly she just stayed in her room, but she occasionally left to go shopping, Iris assumed. They mostly ignored each other, though Iris did sometimes leave enough coffee in the coffeemaker for her, and Felicity stopped putting the door on a chain whenever she was in the dorm after about a week. That, Iris supposed, was progress. After a while, as her life filled up with all the exciting things she was learning and all the people she was meeting, she stopped thinking so much about her weird loner roommate.

But Iris still didn’t quite know what to make of Felicity. Most of the time she ignored her, yes, but there was that time she came home to find a fully typed transcript of the seminar she’d spilled coffee on – _in her computer_. Without Iris even telling her about it. Felicity hadn’t replied when she’d knocked on the door to thank her, and she didn’t see her at all the next day. She learned from everyone else that, yes, Felicity Smoak had once been one of the nicest people around, even though she wasn’t that popular. Everyone knew about Cooper, but no one believed that he was coming back. And everyone, _everyone_ , thought that Felicity Smoak was just a weird loner who wasn’t worth the effort. And Iris had to be honest, after a week of their routine of Felicity locking Iris out of the dorm until she shouted at her to let her in, she could see where that reasoning came from.

After a month, though, she’d had enough. Maybe it was her natural older sister nature (though Wally just called it ‘busybody nosiness’), but she didn’t want to leave MIT without at least _trying_ to connect with the strangely sad girl. But she’d learned her lesson and had no intention of getting up to bang on Felicity’s door to get her to talk. Instead, she opened up her computer and pulled up the college email list. If there was one thing she knew, it was that Felicity checked her emails. How else would she know when to show up to midterms – and ace them, if Winn and Steph were right – if she didn’t? She opened up the chat and began to type.

 _Felicity_.

Nothing, of course, but Iris wasn’t deterred.

 _Felicity, I know it’s none of my business, but I’m worried about you. You can’t hide in your room forever_.

Still nothing.

_I know I don’t know what it’s like to be in your situation, but I know you must feel scared, and you can talk to me if you want._

_And this is just to let you know, I meant what I said when I said I was way more stubborn than you. So until you answer, you’re going to enjoy the lyrics of Beyoncé. And I know how much you love her…_

_‘I look and stare so deep in your eyes,_

_I touch on you more and more every time,_

_When you leave I'm begging you not to go,_

_Call your name two or three times in a row,_

_Such a funny thing for me to try to-_

Iris’ door flew open and she looked up with a smile. “You really don’t give up, do you?” Felicity muttered. “God, you’re annoying.”

“Beyoncé has an extensive catalogue.” She shut her laptop. “So, are you ready to have a conversation that isn’t ‘where’s the coffee?’?”

Felicity scowled. “No. I just wanted you to stop instant messaging me.”

Iris shrugged. “Whatever. It worked – I got you in here. What are you doing next week?”

“Wha…Next week? Why?”

“Winn and a bunch of people are having a party in Baker House, and _you’re_ coming with me.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so,” she replied, folding her arms. “Not really a party person.”

“Felicity.” Iris grabbed her hands. “Look, you don’t know me, and I don’t know what you went through. But all of this – the hiding in your room and not going to classes and being afraid of him, is just letting him win. You can’t let him ruin your life.”

Felicity chewed on her lip nervously. “I know that. But I …It’s too hard. And I haven’t seen those people in so long.”

“I’ll go with you,” Iris promised. “Besides, Winn and your friends really want to see you.”

“Really?”

“Sure! They really want to know your opinion on Simply Orient…uh, Process…”

“Simple Concurrent Object-Oriented Programming,” she corrected, smiling. “It’s a concurrency model designed for the Eiffel programming language.”

Iris blinked. “Yeah, that. Apparently they learned it in class and it’s really hard.”

“Please, I covered that in high school. Give me a challenge.”

Iris laughed and after a second, Felicity joined in. She smiled. “Okay, maybe I can come for a little bit. Those guys could probably use a good teacher. I, um, don’t really have anything to wear, though.”

“And if you’d spent time getting to know me, you’d know that that’s a problem I can fix.” Iris studied her through narrowed eyes. “You and I are about the same size, and you’re a pretty girl. A _really_ pretty girl. You’re not averse to wearing stuff that’s not black, right? I mean, it’s okay if you are,” she added quickly. “But I think you’d look really good in pink. Or blue! Or-”

“You know what, Iris? You just pick whatever you want. I get the feeling that whatever you’ll pick will work.”

Iris grinned. “Awesome. Now, I have a really early class tomorrow, but you will be informed of what you’re wearing as soon as I decide.”

“Sure,” she said. “Uh, thanks, Iris.”

“Please. Getting people to party is one of my superpowers.”

“One of?”

“I can eat an insane amount of brownies when I put my mind to it.”

***

Felicity still didn’t show up to any of their classes, according to Winn, but if Iris could spend the entire day sleeping and still be able to pass her classes, she wasn’t sure if she’d ever set foot on campus, so she didn’t blame her. Iris was just happy that she’d gotten Felicity to agree to do something with her, though she didn’t tell Winn because she wanted it to be a surprise. And, if she was honest with herself, a part of her kind of expected Felicity to bail out at the last minute. On the day of the party, however, she was still willing to go, if not a little apprehensive.

“Why won’t you show me what I’m wearing?” Felicity asked for the fourth time that morning.

“Because it’s a surprise,” Iris replied, carefully pouring coffee into a thermos as quickly as she could. She glanced at her roommate. “I’m going to do your hair, too.”

“What’s wrong with my hair?”

“There’s nothing wrong with your hair. I’m just going to make it more exciting.” Iris swept her eyes around the room. She had incredibly busy day today, full of midterms and group projects and a special talk, and she at least wanted to come back and nap before the party. “Okay, I’ll be back around six, and then we can get ready together and go. Pregaming is downstairs and the party starts at nine. Winn said that we- _Shit_!”

“I keep telling you to be careful,” Felicity called from her room. Iris scowled at her back.

“He shouldn’t be leaving his toolbox in our lounge.”

“He says he promises he’ll be done by tomorrow.”

“He’d better,” Iris muttered. The repair guy who had been called in to see to their light fixtures was taking his sweet time doing it, and she was tired of almost breaking her neck because he always left his toolbox in the middle of their dorm. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

Iris and Felicity never went to the party.

Iris would blame herself for it because she was late, and Felicity would blame herself because she should have been paying attention, but as the police officers and detectives told them, neither of them were to blame. Sometimes, these things just happened, and both of them were lucky to have made it out unscathed. Relatively unscathed.

In any case, Iris _was_ late, and she _did_ feel guilty about it. The talk had run long, and even though she _was_ interested in how serial killers chose their victims, she had hoped that the university would pick someone who said more than than one word every thirty seconds. She rushed back to her dorm, neatly avoiding the toolbox that was _still_ in the middle of the floor, and frowned when she saw that all the curtains were drawn and the room was cloaked in darkness. “Felicity?” Had she gone already? No – her keys were still on the hook. Iris frowned, dumping her stuff on the floor, and was even more surprised to find that Felicity’s door was unlocked.

“There you are,” she said when she saw her sitting at her desk. Felicity didn’t turn or even move, just kept staring at her computer, which was showing a series of complicated algorithms and diagrams that Iris couldn’t even hope to understand. “I’m sorry I’m late, I…”

It was only then, when she reached Felicity’s side, that she noticed that her arms and legs were bound to the chair with rope, and that silent, mascara-streaked tears were running down her cheeks.

“Iris,” she whispered, and Iris’ blood ran cold. “ _Run_.”

But Iris never got the chance, because when she looked up, she saw a strikingly good-looking boy leaning against the doorframe, a sardonic smile on his face. “Hi,” he said, and from the way Felicity flinched when he spoke, Iris knew this had to be the psycho ex. Cooper Seldon. “You must be Iris West.”

Iris swallowed, her throat dry. “Who-Who are you?”

Cooper’s eyes slid to Felicity, who was still shaking in her chair. “Aw, babe. You never told her about me? And here I thought you and I were so close.”

“What are you talking about?”

Instead of answering, Cooper pulled out his iPhone and tapped a few buttons. Iris gasped when she heard her own voice.

_‘Whatever. It worked – I got you in here. What are you doing next week?’_

_‘Wha…Next week? Why?’_

_‘Winn and a bunch of people are having a party in Baker House, and you’re coming with me.'_

_‘Yeah, I don’t think so. Not really a party person.’_

_‘Felicity. Look, you don’t know me, and I don’t know what you went through. But all of this – the hiding in your room and not going to classes and being afraid of him, is just letting him win. You can’t let him ruin your life_.’

“I resent that,” he drawled slowly, stopping the recording. “I didn’t think I was ruining anyone’s life. Although I guess I have to thank you, Iris. The only reason I was able to find out where Felicity would be today is because you managed to convince her to go to this party. So thanks for having a terrible computer firewall.” He smiled again, like a cat, and Iris understood why Felicity was shaking next to her. “And for getting my girl to want to party. I appreciate it.”

“Let her go, Coop,” Felicity said shakily, turning her head. “She didn’t do anything. It’s me you want, and she’s completely useless to you. Just…Just let her go.”

“I don’t think so, Felicity. See, now I have someone to use against you, seeing as you and Iris are such good friends. I would have used Winn, or Steph, or any of those people, but your cut them all out, didn’t you? I guess getting under people’s skins is another one of your roommate’s superpowers.”

 _He was listening to everything_ , Iris thought in horror. How much did he know? And how in hell had he gotten in? “Okay, Iris, let’s do a deal. You come over here and sit in this chair, quietly, and let me and Felicity get to work, and I won’t harm a hair on your pretty little head. You haven’t done anything wrong, after all. It’ll just be your weird roommate that the police arrest for trying to destroy the American university system.”

Iris swallowed again and glanced at Felicity, before looking back at Cooper again. “O-Okay.” She moved towards him slowly, her heart slamming wildly in her chest. “You know, you could leave right now. Technically you haven’t done anything wrong, and we won’t talk. You can still get away.”

“Shut up and get in the chair.” Cooper snapped as she got closer to him. “Do you think I’m an idiot?”

“No,” she replied, lifting her hands so he could bind them. “I just think you’re an _asshole_!”

Iris kicked him in the groin on that last word and shoved him as hard as she could out of the door, before slamming it shut and driving the bolt home. Then she sprinted back to Felicity and to untie her hands, trying to ignore Cooper hollering and cursing at the door.

“What are you doing?” she demanded over Cooper’s swearing. “I told you to run!”

“I’m not leaving without you,” Iris shot back, dropping to her knees to untie her legs. The ground shook with the force of Cooper's blows. “What happened?”

“Cooper hacked into the security system and deleted his profile from the prohibited persons list. Then he snuck up here and told me he wanted me to build a supervirus for him. The door was unlocked because of the repair guy.” Felicity’s voice was shaking. “I told them he’d come back. None of them believed me.”

“No one saw?”

“Everyone went to the bottom floor for pregaming,” she explained. Cooper was banging so hard the doorframe was rattling. “No one even heard me shouting.”

Felicity stood up as Iris untied the last of the rope, and seemed to realise that maybe locking themselves inside a room with a psychopath on the other side wasn’t such a good idea. She grabbed Felicity’s hand. “Listen to me. I’m going to let him in.”

“Have you lost your mind?” she hissed. “He’ll kill us!”

“Well, we can’t jump out the window!”

The door was starting to splinter, and Felicity swore, moving them to the side of the door. “Fine. One…Two… _Three_!”

Iris threw the door open and Cooper toppled forward; they ran past him towards the door, but Cooper grabbed Felicity and shoved Iris to the ground. By the time she scrambled to her feet, he had an arm around Felicity and a gun in his hand.

“That was a really dumb move, girls,” he said calmly, lifting the gun to her neck. Felicity squirmed in his grip. “All of this could have been so easy. All you had to do was-”

Felicity grabbed the gun with one hand and elbowed him with the other, throwing the gun across the room. Iris bent down and took a wrench from the toolbox, whacking Cooper around the head with it even as he grasped at Felicity’s hand. He collapsed half on top of her, and Iris pulled Felicity towards her as Cooper slumped on the ground, both of them breathing heavily with their arms wrapped around each other.

“Is-” Iris swallowed, catching her breath. “Is he dead?”

Felicity crawled forward and felt for a pulse, before slumping in relief. “No, just unconscious.”

“Good,” Iris nodded, and disappeared into her room for a moment. When she came back, she was holding handcuffs; Felicity watched in disbelief as she handcuffed Cooper to one of the tables that was fastened to the floor. “Where did you get those?”

“Cop’s daughter,” she replied shakily. And she was going to get in a hell of a lot of trouble for it when her father found out, she knew. Iris looked at the splintered door and the bruises around Felicity’s wrists and ankles and the _gun_ on the floor, and her throat felt tight. “We should call someone.”

“Five months,” Felicity whispered to herself. “He was stalking me for five months, and no one believed me.”

Iris couldn’t think of anything to say other than “How?”

“Cooper’s a fucking genius,” she said bitterly, wiping her cheeks. “He was cyberstalking me. He’d leave me messages on my computer and then erase them so I had no proof they were ever there. I’d be listening to music on Spotify and it would suddenly shut down and start playing the Psycho theme or something like that. My mom even got weird, coded emails that she couldn’t explain, and I knew that it was for me. He was screwing with me, letting me know he could get me any time he wanted, and nobody could catch him.”

Iris blinked. “I had no idea.”

Felicity shook her head apologetically. “I’m so sorry, Iris. I didn’t mean to be such a bitch to you, but I couldn’t risk someone else getting hurt because him Cooper and me. I thought I’d be able to get you to leave, or I would have hacked into your computer and fixed up a firewall myself – that way he couldn’t track us. But I guess he hadn’t done anything in a while, and you were so reassuring, I guess I really thought that he was gone. That he was really leaving me alone.”

Iris snorted. “Well, I’m sorry for being so fucking pushy. I swear, no one should listen to me ever again. Why didn’t anyone believe you?”

“I’m Felicity Smoak, remember? I’m a hacker, which makes me a liar, and besides, everyone knows that girls lie for attention, right?”

She knew, and it made her blood boil. “Say all of that again.”

“What? Why?”

“Because when we tell the police, I don’t want anyone trying to get you to downplay it. You were fucked with, Felicity, and I’m not going to let it happen again.”

So Iris got her phone and recorded her, both of them watching to make sure Cooper didn’t wake up, and then Iris wiped the mascara and tears off her cheeks. It took them five minutes to let go of each other’s hands, and another ten before they calmed down long enough to call the campus police. They took one look at the unconscious man and wreckage of their room and called the house manager, who called the dean of the university from the dinner he was attending, as well as the _real_ police. The entire time, from relaying the story to the house managers and then the dean and then the police, Iris never once let go of Felicity’s hand. Not when Cooper woke up and started bellowing their names and promising he would kill them, or when they had to move to a different room while the detectives inspected their dorm. When the girls were finally allowed to change and go to sleep, Iris crawled into bed beside Felicity and held her hand there, too, but neither of them talked about it or even said anything.

And no one – _no one_ – was prepared for the arrival of Donna Smoak and Joe West.

In hindsight, both girls knew they probably should have warned the faculty that they were about to get hit with a hurricane of hurt from both of the worried parents. But they had forgotten that their parents had even been called, and then they’d fallen into an exhausted sleep that had only been interrupted by Donna shouting ‘ _Where’s my daughter_?’ and Joe threatening every incompetent fool who couldn’t recognise what stalking looked like, and then they threw the door to their room open. And Iris took one look at her father, whose expression was halfway been angry and relieved, and Wally, who looked like someone had told him that his sister had died, and leapt into their arms. That was when she finally started crying, because that man had a gun and he hurt Felicity and she had been _so scared_. But then she looked at Felicity, because she’d been feeling that way for five months, and she waited for her mother to stop crying and sobbing ‘My baby girl’, and then she hugged her and said, “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you.”

***

Eventually, everybody stopped shouting, and Joe and Donna agreed not to sue the university if Cooper never went near their daughters again and they issued a formal apology, as well as changed their rules for stalking on university campuses, because they found out that Felicity had gone to someone about Cooper at least a dozen times. They didn’t have to worry, though.

The FBI came to take Cooper Seldon away that same day.

Iris declined the therapy and Felicity didn’t, but Iris supported her through the sessions, and going back to classes, and getting back to something resembling a normal life. Donna and Joe went back to Star City and to Central City, but not before they reminded the faculty that they could still sue any time they wanted (Joe was very proud of the fact that Iris made Felicity record her version of the story so the university couldn’t influence her, and Donna hugged her for it). One good thing came out of it, Wally noted.

“Dad said the they’re waiving your tuition,” he explained. He and Felicity were playing a video game, and she was so surprised she dropped the controller. “Really?”

“Yeah. Iris for this semester and she gets reimbursed for travel and expenses, and Felicity for the rest of your time here. Pretty cool, huh?”

Iris snorted. “I guess Cooper got what he wanted after all.” And then she clapped a hand over her mouth, because maybe it was too soon, but Felicity just laughed so hard she almost choked. After a second, Iris joined in; Wally ignored them both and went back to the video game.

A little while after that, Iris came home to find Felicity standing in front of the mirror with her hands on her hips, studying her reflection. “There’s nothing wrong with my hair,” she said slowly.

“Nope,” Iris agreed absently, dumping her stuff. “You are my pretty girl, Felicity Smoak.”

“But I want to make it more exciting… _Different_.” And they grinned at each other.

So Iris accompanied Felicity to get her hair dyed blonde, and after that they went shopping for a new wardrobe. Iris, of course, marked the whole trip as ‘expenses’. Later that night, when they were eating pizza and brownies and watching _The Princess Diaries_ , Felicity said, “So do you want to be a journalist, or what?”

“I don’t know, why?”

“Your blog.”

Iris froze. “I don’t have a blog.” Felicity rolled her eyes.

“Come on, Iris. Your firewall was like paper to me; I’ve been reading that thing since you got here.” She paused, swallowing. “You put away the Rag Doll?”

Iris thought about denying it, and then shrugged. It would be nice to have someone who wasn’t Linda to talk to about her blog (she loved Eddie…but he would definitely tell her father). She told Felicity everything, from the Rag Doll to Poison Ivy to now, and she listened in admiration. “Give me your laptop.”

“Why?” Iris asked, but she handed it to her.

“Because your firewall is pathetic and you won’t stay anonymous for long unless you change it. No offence,” Felicity added. “But I think I know a little about staying away from the crazies on the internet.” She cracked her knuckles. “You need some rock and roll on this thing, babydoll.” She paused. “That sounded _so_ much better in my head.”

Iris laughed. “I think it sounded awesome, pretty girl.”

About an hour later – around the time Mia making her speech about being a princess – Felicity handed the laptop back. “There. Now no one will ever be able to find out the identity of True North. Not unless they want to be singing ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ for days afterwards.”

Iris smiled gratefully. “Thanks, Felicity. I don’t know what to say.”

“Don’t say anything,” she shrugged. “You saved my life, remember? So, are you going to be a journalist?”

“You think I could be one?”

“Hell yeah, I do. You’re funny and sharp, and you’re good at investigating stuff, obviously. Though I think I can hook you up with some more equipment, like better binoculars and a more high-tech camera. You’re good with the brass knuckles, though. Keep those.”

Iris ran a hand through her hair. “I don’t know, Felicity. People don’t want to read about this kind of stuff, not in the papers. I’d love to investigate real news about politics, or economics, or world issues, but I don’t think I could stop this, either. It’s too much fun.”

Her roommate tipped her head to the side. “So do both.”

“Both?”

“Sure. Have you heard of linguistics?”

“I think so.”

“It’s the study of language. There’s a whole part called discourse analysis – it’ll teach you how to make what you put on your blog sound different to anything you’ll ever publish. That way, no one could figure out that Iris West is True North.”

“That,” Iris said slowly after a pause, “sounds like a damn good idea, Smoak.”

Felicity grinned at her. “Why, thank you, West.”

After more seminars and days spent in bed watching movies and random Beyoncé dance parties when Linda came to visit (because Felicity had assured her that of course she loved Beyoncé; she’d just been trying to get Iris to leave that time), it was finally time for Iris to go back to Gotham to get her stuff before going back to Central City for the summer. “What are you going to do without me?”

“Steph and I are going to see if we can build a program that tracks the amount of sexist comments made on Facebook pages and then send them spam,” she answered casually. Iris raised her eyebrows and Felicity’s eyes widened. “It’s harmless! Using my powers for good, I promise!”

“Awesome.” Iris sighed, feeling the tears work their way up her throat. “So, I’ll let you know when you can come visit me and Linda. And Dawn! You’d love her! She’s an adorable nerd, just like you!” Then she paused, trying to think of the right words. “Listen, Felicity. I know you think you’re just like every other hacker in the world, but I promise you you’re not. You’re more talented and a million times more special. Every time I investigate something – on my new Pentagon-security level blog, thank you – I’m going to think about you and how brave you are. And if I get published-”

“ _When_ you get published.”

“- _when_ I get published, I’m dedicating my first article to you. And Linda because-”

“Linda,” Felicity said, “is awesome.”

“Right. Even if it’s just a stupid piece about house prices.” Iris didn’t realise that they were both crying happy tears until she was done talking. “I’m really glad you didn’t kick me out.”

“I’m really glad you didn’t let me.” Felicity held her arms out and Iris stepped into her embrace. “Bye, babydoll.”

“Bye, pretty girl.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See? Longest chapter yet. Sorry for the lack of Westallen in this one, but I needed Felicity and Iris to bond - there'll be lots of Westallen in the next one! There will be a part II to this hopefully, but if not I'll still let you know more about their friendship. Those of you who watch Arrow will know that I took some elements from Felicity's origin story episode and that time she mentioned she was stalked. Also, those of you who read comics may recognise some of the names here - see if you can spot who's who! And as always, I love you all for reading, commenting and liking. You make my heart smile. :)


	10. The Scientist and the Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Barry needs a star to guide him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if this gets a little dark - I've been in a funk lately and I may have projected some depression in here. That's what I get for listening to Snow Patrol, Gary Jules and OneRepublic on repeat. But this contains possibly my favourite WestAllen moment so far in the story, and I tried to include some light moments, so I hope you like it! I've also changed the summary a little and cleaned up my tags, so don't worry - it's still the same story! And this actually got longer than the last chapter, which I'm very surprised at. TW: violence

“You haven’t come to visit-”

“I only got back, like, last week! Why are you-”

“Oliver’s looking into something.”

“Of course. Are you and Oliver-”

“No, of course not, he’s-”

“Oliver, I know. Does he still do the-”

“Every Wednesday. Shirtless. It’s-”

“Heaven, right? Where’s-”

“Visiting her mother. Professor Lance? She works-”

“At Central City University, duh. Wally-”

“Goes there, I remember. How is that asshole nerd? Is he still-”

“Flirting with Linda? _All the damn time_.”

Barry watched the two of them in stunned silence, and Oliver made a strangled noise. “How do they…They’re not even letting the other one finish,” he muttered.

“It’s like they’re reading each other’s minds,” Diggle said in a low voice. “Are they reading each other’s minds?”

“I just forgot how much they like to talk,” Oliver went on. “And how _fast_.”

Barry tore his gaze away from them. “How do you know Iris?”

At the mention of her name, Iris seemed to remember that the guys were standing there. “Oliver, Diggle,” she said, grinning. “What are you guys doing here? How do you know Barry?”

“Work,” Barry replied swiftly. “We met through work. We’re friends.”

“Oh,” she replied. “Right. Um. Me too.” Felicity looked at the two of them.

“Relax, guys. You both know he’s the…What he does in his spare time.”

Barry stared at Iris. “You know he’s the Arrow?”

“ _You_ know he’s the Arrow? You and Oliver are _friends_?”

“Well…” Felicity started, looking at the vein popping in Oliver’s neck. “Oliver doesn’t really have friends. Acquaintances, maybe.”

Barry snorted. “Felicity, I gave him rat poison to save his life and then he almost threw a table at me. If that doesn’t earn me the right to call myself the Arrow’s friend, I don’t know what does.”

Iris swatted him on the arm. “You’re the rat poison guy? I love that story, it’s hilarious!”

“Hey, quit hitting me,” he said. Iris was surprisingly strong for such a small person. “And it’s not hilarious when he’s hitting you with arrows.”

Oliver cleared his throat. “Would the two of you please speak louder?” he said quietly. “I don’t think they heard you on Lian Yu.”

“Sorry, Oliver,” Barry and Iris said together. But then they looked at each other and shared a grin as Oliver said something to Felicity. Unbeknownst to them, Diggle narrowed his eyes at them.

“What are you guys doing here?” Barry asked. “I know you had something to do with the explosion and then _shoot-out_ at a family restaurant-”

“Oh no,” Felicity interrupted. “That was _not_ a family restaurant. Nuh-uh. Way too many shady things going down there.”

“In any case, we’re here to meet an associate about that,” Diggle said. “An informant about something Oliver was working on a few years back.”

Barry raised his eyebrows in surprise. It was serious, then, if it involved something that happened on the island. He looked at Iris and saw that she looked just as surprised. But what she said was, “And you guys are meeting them in a coffee shop?”

Oliver turned and gave Felicity an expectant look, and Diggle tried to hide his smile. Felicity’s cheeks turned red. “What? Everyone likes a good cup of java. And excuse me if I’m sick of meeting people in dark buildings where you can’t see anyone’s faces and everyone talks like their throats have been cut.”

“As you can probably tell, it was Felicity’s idea,” Oliver said, and she rolled her eyes.

“Whatever, grumpy.” She grabbed Iris’ hand briefly. “Let me finish with _this one_ , and then we can catch up.”

“That sounds great,” Iris smiled. “Linda and my dad will be really happy to see you.”

Barry and Iris moved towards the back of Jitter’s with their coffees and watched as the associate the others were meeting turned up, though a glare from Oliver told them that they had to be less obvious in their staring. Barry, whose back was to them, paid attention to this pretty easily and simply ate the cronut Iris ordered for him. She, however, didn’t.

“Iris,” Barry said in amused exasperation. Her brown eyes snapped back to him and she gave him a guilty look when she realised she must have trailed off during his third time explaining the basics of particle physics to her. “If I can see you staring, they can see you staring.”

She gave him a sheepish smile. “Sorry. Just waiting for them to be done.”

But it happened again about a minute later, and Iris finally gave up. “I recorded you explaining it the first time, anyway,” she shrugged, waving her phone at him. “Besides, I’m obviously not concentrating.”

“Because you’re so busy staring at Oliver Queen?”

“Yes,” she answered honestly, sipping her Americano. “He’s on my freebie five list. Don’t judge me.”

“Uh-huh,” Barry said, a little disappointed. Of course Iris had a crush on Oliver Queen; everyone had a crush on that guy. Maybe it was the muscles. Or the money. Or the moody-broody bit that he managed to make look so fucking good. First Felicity, and then Iris. Not that he’d ever had a chance with either of them; Felicity because she was so obviously into Oliver, and Iris because she was…Well, because she was Iris. Unless she had another moment where she decided to push him into a desk chair because she wanted to fuck him stupid; Barry wasn’t sure he would have a problem with that. But he sincerely doubted it would happen again, and that would definitely mess up their friendship.

“ _Barry_.” Iris said, waving a hand in front of his face. He looked at her.

“Sorry.”

“Now who’s not paying attention?” she teased, sipping her coffee.

“Ha-ha. What were you saying?”

“I was asking how you met those guys.”

“Oh.” Barry shrugged. He didn’t really want to explain that he was chasing a case about a man of steel in the hopes that it would get a convicted murdered out of jail, especially to someone like Iris. Journalists only tended to deal in cold, hard facts. “I met them through work. I was helping them with a case. You know that time Oliver got stabbed with a drug thingy and he almost died?”

“Oh yeah. They never found that guy, did they?”

“Nope, too busy with all the arrow copycats. What about you?”

“Oh, we’re work friends too.” Barry raised his eyebrows.

“Work friends like we’re work friends?”

“ _Barry_!” Iris laughed, slapping his arm again, although he noticed that the tips of her ears went red. And he was reminded, just for a moment, of her moaning his name while she was on top of him at CCPN, her fingers raking through his hair and her tongue tracing the curves of his ear. He shook his head to clear it. “Ah, sorry, couldn’t resist. Won’t happen again. Although if we’re going to be friends, you’re going to have to stop hitting me.”

She gave him a look. “Uh-huh. Besides, it’s not like we’re _just_ work friends; we’re normal friends too. I want to talk to Felicity again, I missed her.” Iris paused. “And I need to know if she finally managed to get out of her own way and go on a date.”

Barry didn’t know why he said what he said next; maybe just to see how she would react. “I tried. I mean, I thought about it. Dating Felicity.”

Iris’ eyes slid to him, but he couldn’t read them. “You know, I see it,” she nodded. “You’re both funny and sweet, and you’ve got that adorable nerd thing going on for you. What?” she added, when Barry grinned at her.

“You think I’m adorable.”

“Sure. Baby giraffes are adorable, right?” Iris grinned. “All those long legs and complete lack of coordination.”

“I guess I had that coming. Anyway, I passed. It wouldn’t have worked between us.”

“Oh,” Iris said. She paused and took a bite of her cronut. “Was it on account of the fact that she’s completely in love with Oliver?”

He looked at her in surprise. “You see it too?”

“Barry, the only people who don’t know that Felicity Smoak is in love with Oliver Queen? Felicity Smoak…

“…and Oliver Queen,” he finished.

“It would be the most frustrating thing in the world if it wasn’t so entertaining.”

Barry made a noise in agreement. “Right? When do you think they’re going to get their acts together?”

“Maybe when Oliver is less of a…”

“Grumpy cat?”

“Right.” Iris shook her head and looked behind him again as they both sipped their coffee. “Look at them, sitting over there. They’re so _married_.”

“I mean, it’s just so obvious. Everyone can see it.”

***

“They’re dating,” Felicity Smoak declared to the two men next to her. “They’re totally dating. They have to be dating.” She paused and frowned when neither of them answered her. “What, you don’t think they’re dating?”

“Felicity,” Oliver sighed, looking up from their papers. “I think that if you talk any louder about Barry and Iris dating, they’ll hear you from across the room.” She glared at him.

“Do you have an aversion to all noise?”

“Have you _met_ Oliver, Felicity?” Diggle chuckled. “Besides, I don’t think he’s all that concerned about how they spend their free time.”

“You’re the one who wanted to check on Barry,” she pointed out. “Because…You know. Isn’t that the reason we’re here?”

“Felicity, the reason we’re here is because I think that there might be someone illegally smuggling guns to an old enemy that makes Malcolm Merlyn look like the tooth fairy,” Oliver responded, pointing to the door where their informant had excited five minutes before. “Not because of Barry.”

“Whatever you say. Do you think he knows she’s True North?”

As she was asking this, Iris laughed and slapped Barry on the arm. “Oh my God,” Felicity muttered. “Look at them. They’re _so_ dating.”

Oliver snorted. “Because she keeps hitting him?”

“Didn’t you go to high school?”

“…not everyday.” Oliver relented and glanced at them briefly. “Barry can’t know that she’s True North because he isn’t jumping all over her like a hyperactive puppy. And no, Felicity,” he added, seeing her face. “We can’t tell him about her. We promised that we wouldn’t tell anyone.”

Felicity know, of course, that Oliver was right. After almost ten years, Iris had only told one person of her identity willingly – Linda Park. Felicity only knew because she was a master hacker, and Oliver and Diggle found out by accident. And if Iris consistently and resolutely refused to tell even Eddie Thawne, who she’d known since she was eleven, Felicity sincerely doubted she was going to tell a guy she met a week ago. No matter how cute they looked together.

“I know,” she said, looking at the two of them. “I just think it would be _super_ cute, you know? For them to know the truth of each other.”

***

“So, how’d you meet?” Barry continued. “You and Oliver and Diggle, I mean.”

“Do you know about the Dollmaker?” Iris asked.

“Sure,” he said slowly.  The Dollmaker was a serial killer who picked his victims based on skin pigmentation, before choking them to death with a polymer and leaving them for the police to find. The thought of anyone being found by him shook him to his core. “Felicity told me about him; that guy was insane. Someone wrote an article exposing his past and how he picked his victims; she has it hanging in the Foundry.”

Iris nodded. “Guess who wrote it?”

He frowned and stared at her for a moment, before his mouth dropped open. “No way. No fucking way. _Iris_. You wrote that? You’re the one who found his victims? All of them?”

“Not all of them. Maybe, like, a third. It kind of tied into this piece I’d been thinking about for a while, about…” She paused, and Barry thought he saw Iris glance behind him to where the others were sitting. “About stalkers, so I ended up putting them together even when I was investigating the Dollmaker. I’ll be honest, I’m kind of surprised you didn’t recognise me straight away from that article.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because that’s the article that won me a Pulitzer, and Wally told me my dad wouldn’t shut up about it at the station last Christmas.”

Barry swallowed. He knew for a fact that last Christmas his father’s parole hearing had been denied again and he hadn’t taken it very well. That, coupled with the fact that he hadn’t been able to find any leads in Star City, meant that month was a pretty rough period for him. He’d walked through that month like a zombie until Captain Singh had just told him to take some weeks off. But he smiled and shrugged. “Guess it went over my head. What happened next?”

“I got into a little bit of trouble, and Oliver and Diggle and Felicity saved me. Well, after Felicity convinced Oliver to, because he does whatever she says.”

Barry frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, they were all set to leave me in the hospital because I was injured, but Felicity convinced him to bring me to the Foundry until I got better. The only reason I know he’s the Arrow is because of her.”

“Wow,” he said, leaning back. “Oliver had to be dying and full of rat poison before I found out he was the Arrow. That must be some story.”

“Maybe someday I’ll tell you.” Iris was smiling, but there was something about it that seemed inexplicably sad. She looked a million miles away.

“So you said you and Felicity weren’t just ‘work friends’?”

“Oh, no,” she said, waving a hand. “I met Felicity in college.”

“I thought you went to Northwestern.”

“Somebody’s been paying attention. I had a semester there for a set of criminal psychology seminars, and Felicity was my roommate.”

Barry took a sip of his drink. “Oh, that makes sense. I wouldn’t think they’d let people like you into MIT.”

Iris raised an eyebrow and gave him a dangerous look. “And what do you mean by that, Barry Allen?”

“Oh, you know,” he said. He made a face. “ _Journalists_.”

“You’re an asshole, Barry,” she laughed. She went to hit his arm again, but he caught her hand as it flew through the air before she could and laughed when she tried and failed to yank it away. And there they were, holding hands over their coffee, and Barry looked at her smile that was like sunshine, and thought for the millionth time that nobody on the planet really had any right to be as goddamn beautiful as Iris fucking West.

“Hey guys,” Felicity said, popping up from nowhere. At least, it felt like nowhere; he’d been so busy staring at Iris that he hadn’t been paying attention to anything else. They let go of each other’s hands. “We’re all done. Iris, Oliver wants to talk to you.”

“Sure,” she said easily, standing up. She squeezed Felicity’s arm as she walked past and bounded up to Oliver and Diggle, before hugging them both. Barry chuckled to himself, but he was glad that this was another part of his life that Iris fit neatly into.

“So,” Felicity said slowly as they walked out of Jitters, “you and Iris, huh?”

“What? No,” he said quickly. “No, no, Iris and I are just friends. She’s my friend from work. The thing with the hands was-”

“Relax, Barry, I didn’t mean that,” she replied, but her eyes were sparkling. “I just didn’t know you guys were friends. And the thing with the hands was _very_ Iris; nobody knows she has no sense of personal space when it comes to her friends more than me. You said you know her from work?”

“Well, more her work than mine,” he admitted. “She’s doing a story on STAR Labs, and since I’m volunteering there they sent me down to help her.”

Felicity looked up at him, smiling. “Oh, so you’re volunteering there now? That’s pretty awesome, considering you almost missed it last year.”

“Yeah, because you guys kidnapped me and made me help Oliver.”

“Are you still telling that old story? Besides, the Particle Accelerator failed last year, isn’t that why Harrison Wells started the whole project again?”

Barry nodded. “Right. And just so you know, I’m going to keep telling that old story until Oliver stops threatening me with bodily harm whenever he sees me.”

“He hasn’t done that today!” Felicity exclaimed. “He’s being good.”

“ _Yet_ ,” he pointed out. “He hasn’t done that _yet_. But yeah, that was why we were meeting today, to talk about the article. Or at least it was supposed to be. Iris just wanted to duck out of CCPN early and eat cronuts, or I would have met her there like I did last week.”

Felicity stopped. “CCPN? That’s…That’s where you meet?”

Barry shrugged. “Yeah. Why?”

“Nothing!” she squeaked. “Nothing, no reason at all. I was just…curious. Hey, go talk to Oliver.” And Felicity shoved him forward and pulled Iris back to her, right in the middle of a conversation with Diggle and Oliver. The girls hung back, whispering amongst themselves and sneaking glances at them as they linked arms and walked forward.

“They’re not going to tell us what that’s about, are they?” Barry asked.

“Nope,” Oliver and Diggle said together.

“So what are you guys doing here?” Barry asked as they made their way across town. “Why’d you shoot up that restaurant?”

“We were looking into something,” Oliver answered shortly. Usually Barry would have been deterred by Oliver’s tone, but he was too used to him to care.

“And what, you thought it was hidden in the breadsticks?” Barry joked. At Oliver’s glare, he swallowed. “Sorry, kidding. What is it?”

“We’re not sure.” Diggle was the one who answered. “From the set-up and the execution, it just looks like a gun-smuggling operation. But our informant tells us that it could be something more serious. Something much worse than an earthquake machine, that’s for sure.”

“Do we need to move to Metropolis, or…”

“It’s nothing we can’t handle, Barry,” Oliver said dismissively. He clapped a hand on his shoulder. “But how are you doing? Are you okay?”

Barry stared at Oliver’s muscly hand on his bony shoulder. “Ollie, did you get drugged again? It’s okay if you are, but we should probably get to my lab…”

Diggle laughed. “Felicity made us promise we would check on you while you were here, given everything that happened last year. But we really are worried about you, kid.”

“When’s the anniversary?” Oliver asked quietly, and Barry knew he was being sincere.

“Saturday.” At least he didn’t have to go to work that day; Captain Singh had given him the day off. “And I’m good, guys. Really.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yep,” he shrugged. “I’m okay. I’m fine.”

“Do you…Do you need anything? Anything at all?”

“I’m gonna go see my dad, take a few days,” he replied, more chipper than he felt. He glanced behind him to where Felicity and Iris were arm-in-arm, talking and laughing. “Listen, my friends don’t know anything about it – only my captain at the precinct does – they just think that my parents died a long time ago, so-”

“Barry,” Oliver interrupted calmly. “Don’t worry about it. Your secret is safe with us.” He glanced at the girls again. “So, um…Do you have any idea how they met?”

“Iris said college.”

“Yeah, that’s what Felicity said too, but she won’t tell me anything else. All I know is that handcuffs were involved.”

Barry raised his eyebrows in interest. “Handcuffs?” But then Barry clamped that thought down, because Iris was his friend, and you weren’t supposed to think about using handcuffs on your friends. Or your friends using handcuffs on you.

Diggle laughed at both of them. “Really, Oliver? You’re that concerned about how they met?”

“I just want to know why they’re so devoted to each other,” he said. “Felicity tells her _everything_.”

“Liar. You just want to know if Barry knows the Hoboken story.”

“The Hoboken story?” Barry repeated, perking up. He’d heard of that story – Linda had told him bits of it after several tequila shots, but Iris had dragged her off home before she could reveal any more. “You know the Hoboken story?”

“Not all of it,” Oliver replied. “I know that they ended up in Hoboken after a night partying, and Felicity got to keep the piñata. That’s it.”

“Linda said she got to keep the sombrero.”

“Well, what did Iris get to keep?”

 _Handcuffs_? Barry thought hopefully, before pushing that thought out of his mind again. They had reached the precinct and Iris and Felicity made to go inside, but Barry didn’t really feel like going back there. “Listen, I’m gonna head home,” he lied. He wasn’t going home. “How long are you guys sticking around for?”

“A while,” Oliver answered. “I’ll call you and we can meet up again.”

“Sure.”

Iris was frowning at him from atop the precinct steps, but Felicity had spotted Joe West and had run inside to greet him, so Iris just gave him a little wave that he returned before disappearing inside, Oliver and Diggle close behind her. A few minutes later though, as he made his way downtown, his phone buzzed.

_Are you okay? You seemed kind of sad._

I’m okay.

_You sure?_

I’m fine.

_Cool. Listen, I kind of have a busy few days ahead of me, but I’ll text you when I need anything. Deal?_

Deal. Iris?

_Yeah?_

What did you get to keep in the Hoboken story?

_You’re not even close to deserving that story, Barry Allen_.

And because he could imagine her smile and the shake of her head as she typed those words, Barry ended up smiling too.

***

Iron Heights prison had seen some changes over the years, like the fact that there was an entire section of the west wing dedicated to one man that people called ‘the Trickster’, and the new renovations that Barry swore only served to make the prison look more brutal. Henry Allen had seen them all. He’d been there for fourteen years, after all.

Barry sat up and smiled when he saw his father open the door on the other side of the glass and sit down opposite him, his hands still chained. Barry didn’t really look anything like Henry – everyone said that Barry always looked like Nora’s father growing up, and he’d inherited her bright green eyes. He was happy that his father at least had something of his wife to look at when his son came to visit.

“Hey, slugger,” he said. Barry laughed.

“Are you ever going to stop calling me that?”

“Nope. Not as long as I’m your dad.”

“Maybe I should take up baseball.”

“Whoa there, kid. Wouldn’t want you to hurt those skinny arms of yours.”

They both laughed and then Barry told Henry about his day and Henry told Barry about _his_ day, which was pleasant enough for someone in a medium-security prison. It was a routine that they had tried to maintain ever since Barry moved back to Central City at the age of twenty-two. When his mother had been murdered and he’d been forced to move across the country to National City, he only ever got to see his father a few times a year, and that was only when Tim and Carol were feeling charitable enough to let him go. They never took him there himself, so he always spent his free time working odd jobs to save up for a plane ticket. Come summer – or sometimes, when he worked really hard, Christmas – he would pack his bags and fly all by himself to Central City, where he’d stay with one of his Carol’s acquaintances who took pity on him and let him stay if he mowed the lawn and cleaned their garage. He lived for those short weeks, when they weren’t only connected by a phone line. He could see him and almost, _almost_ touch him. It didn’t matter that it was through frosted glass. He always tried to save up enough for him to use the commissary as well, because he knew that the only person who hadn’t completely abandoned Henry Allen was his son.

That changed, of course, once he went to college. He managed to get a full scholarship to go to Notre Dame in Keystone City, and apart from a stressful period in his sophomore year, he’d been able to make it back at least every Christmas to see his father. Then, when he managed to get an internship at the KCPD that would actually pay, he moved out of his cousin Tim’s house in National City and never looked back. And he’d never forget the day when he walked into the prison a few months later to tell his dad that he was back in Central City.

He was back, and now he could find a way to get him out.

Today wasn’t that kind of visit, though. Barry had seen it on his father’s face the minute he walked in, and he knew that it would be reflected on his own when he sat down. “She always loved this time of year,” he said quietly. “Not even Halloween yet, and she’d start planning for Thanksgiving.”

“Do you remember when she bought the biggest turkey in October, and then we made fun of her for it, but then the week after there was this roadblock and the the distributor couldn’t deliver any turkeys to Central City?

“We didn’t hear the end of that one until Easter,” Henry chuckled. “Everyone came over to our house for leftovers that year.”

“And _I_ didn’t get any.”

They laughed again before lapsing into silence. That Thanksgiving had been the year before she died; the second to last one before their family had been shattered. Barry felt the tears slipping down his cheeks before he opened his mouth. “I just…I miss her so much, dad. I think sometimes I’m okay and I’m over it, but then I remember how much she liked breakfast muffins or I hear her favourite eighties song-”

“Barry…” Henry said, pained, but he continued.

“And I _still_ can’t get you out, and-”

“Barry,” his father interrupted forcefully. “Listen to me. Are you listening?”

His throat was burning and his vision was blurred, but he nodded, though his head was still in his hand and the hand that was holding the receiver of the phone was shaking. Slowly, like he had learned to do so many years ago, he counted to five until his throat cleared and looked up at his father. “I’m…I’m listening.”

“Everything you can do for me, you’re doing right now. Do you understand? You’re already doing it. Do you know how much it means to me that you’re out there living your life? That you’re out there trying to be happy? It’s the only thing that keeps me going.”

“O-Okay,” he said quietly, wiping his eyes. “Thanks, dad.”

“You want to come see me on Saturday? Do you have plans?”

“That’d be nice. Uh, I was just gonna hang out with Cisco and Caitlin and Ronnie, or maybe Iris if she wanted…”

Henry raised his eyebrows. “Iris? That’s the reporter from CCPN, right? The one writing the article about Harrison Wells and the Particle Accelerator.”

Barry nodded. “Yeah, I’m helping her write it. She’s awesome, dad, she’s so funny and smart and warm. You’d love her.”

“I’ll bet,” he smiled, and Barry rolled his eyes.

“Dad. Not you too. Iris and I are just friends. It’s good to have more than three friends.”

“I’m not saying anything at all, Barry. I’d just like to know her last name so I can show off the article around here. Let people know my son has connections and gets his opinion in the paper.”

“Your son, the science nerd.”

“Nothing wrong with being a nerd, Bar.”

Barry smiled despite himself, before slowly reaching his hand up to the glass, pressing it against the cool surface. Henry did the same, his calloused and wrinkled hand just bigger than Barry’s own. “I love you, dad.”

“I love you too, son.”

***

_Okay, I think I get it._

Are you saying that because you actually get it, or are you trying to get me to go away?

_Um._

Iris.

_No, I can do it! Just a sec._

Don’t google it.

_I’m not!_ A pause. _Okay so particle physics is about the particle thingies that have mass, and the particle thingies that don’t, which is radiation. Accelerator physics is applied physics that’s related to microwave engineering, optics and computer technology_.

I wouldn’t call them ‘particle thingies’ in your article, but you’re good. Well done :)

_See? And it only took four days. Okay, time to write._

Barry chuckled to himself and put his phone down, going back to grading the quiz that one of the other volunteers had given the kids on Wednesday. It was easy, mindless work, work that could distract him from the day while he watched Cisco and Ronnie performed an experiment on the other side of the protective glass in the lab. Across the room from him, Caitlin was drawing a complicated set of hormone interactions on a whiteboard. They had been given permission to work late by Dr Wells, as long as they didn’t break anything (read: as long as Cisco _didn’t break anything_ ), and Barry was hanging out with them until everyone went home.

He was dreading it, if he was honest. His apartment was too fucking quiet.

He’d had a good day, though. He’d gone to the station to get some work to take home in case he wanted to be distracted again, and then he and Eddie did some sparring (and Barry tried not to wheeze when Eddie gave him a particularly hard punch). Oliver and the others had asked him about what he found on the crime scene and then went off after a lead that they seemed pretty secretive about, but they promised to come and find him if they needed anything. Barry had wanted to hang out with Iris, but she’d said something about ‘useless baby interns’ and he’d heard Linda growling at someone on the phone, so she’d just laughed and promised they would hang out on Monday.

Barry was doing well, though. He was good. He hadn’t seen any blood to remind him of that night, or anything to remind him of his mother, and he’d even avoided going past his old house on his way back from seeing his father.

He was okay. He was fine.

“Burn, baby, burn!” Cisco yelled from beyond the glass. Barry looked up to see that something on the table was smoking with a bright purple flame. Caitlin shared a look with him and sighed. “If you get fired,” she called, “I am not going with you.”

“Relax, honey,” Ronnie assured her, practically bouncing up and down. “We’re good. God, I haven’t done this in years!”

“What are they doing?” she muttered, coming over to sit down next to him. “And why are they so _loud_?”

“You ever do that thing where you cut a grape in half and put it in a microwave to make plasma?”

“… _no_.”

“Okay. Well, that’s what they’re doing, only with Bunsen burners. What about you?”

Caitlin sighed and rubbed her temples. “Dr Wells wants us to see how the Particle Accelerator could affect biological function in humans if it were to malfunction.”

“It could affect people?”

“That’s a worst-case scenario, and it also requires a high-powered electric discharge travelling at incredibly high speeds.”

He raised his eyebrows. “So they’d need to be struck by lightning?”

“Right. And what are the odds of that happening?”

“Actually, being struck by lightning-”

“Barry,” she interrupted, her eyes closed. “Usually I find your spouting of random facts to be very endearing. Like having a scientific, nerdy little brother. But not today. Please.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, she’s just a little hungover,” Ronnie answered, coming over to sit next to them. He pulled off his goggles and balanced them on Caitlin’s head, grinning when she gave him a look. “She was out with Iris and Linda and Felicity last night.”

“That must have been fun,” Cisco grinned, slurping on a slushie. “All that hot in one room.”

“Yes, well, that’s not why I went to hang out with them,” she pointed out. “Believe it or not, I actually like hanging out with other women who don’t talk about science all day. And I’m not hungover, just tired.”

“Doesn’t mean they’re not hot. Hey, do you know if Linda is single?”

“I think she’s interested in someone,” Caitlin answered absently. “Someone she’s known for a while. Iris was about to spill, but then Linda asked if I wanted to know what happened when they ended up in Hoboken to distract her.”

Barry stared in utter disbelief. “ _You_ know the Hoboken story too?”

“Whoa, wait,” Cisco interjected. “There’s a story? I want to know.”

“Sorry, I can’t tell you,” Caitlin shrugged. “Linda may be sweet, but she could also probably kill you in your sleep. _Ugh_ ,” she added, grabbing her head. “No more Long Island Iced Teas for me.”

Ronnie stroked her hair. “You okay, babe? You wanna go home?”

“Do you mind?”

“Not at all, I can walk home. Cisco and I will finish up here and then I’ll meet you there. I’ll even bring you dinner.”

Caitlin and Ronnie smiled at each other, and she leaned in to kiss him. “I love you,” Caitlin whispered.

“I love you too.”

Cisco made a retching noise. “You both disgust me.”

“You’re just jealous,” Ronnie said, and Cisco nodded.

“That’s true. Still disgusted.”

“Whatever. Come on, babe, I’ll get you the car keys.”

Barry watched them go a little wistfully, before Cisco poked him in the shoulder. “Before you fuck off home, don’t forget the enchiladas I brought you.”

“Cisco, you didn’t have to do that.”

“Of course I had to, you dweeb. Everyone knows food makes everything better.” Barry had told them that today was the anniversary of his mother’s death but he hadn’t wanted to make a big deal about it. That hadn’t stopped Cisco from walking in STAR Labs that morning with a large dish of enchiladas. “Besides, my abuela thinks that I’m not eating and keeps making me take food home. I’m scared for my health!”

“And you’re not worried about mine?”

Cisco snorted. “Please, you’re like a twig, you actually need the food. If you turned sideways, you’d disappear. Night Caitlin!” he called as Caitlin waved them goodbye. Barry said goodbye as well, just before she turned to Ronnie and kissed him again.

Barry was still wistful when he got back to his apartment and put the enchiladas in the fridge, trying and then failing to do some CSI work, and he still felt like that when he went to sleep. It wasn’t that he was jealous of Caitlin and Ronnie, not exactly. But he didn’t think someone had ever said ‘I love you too’ to him – at least, not romantically, and he wasn’t sure what it was like to wanted and loved in that way. He’d had exactly two serious girlfriends in his life, and none of them had said that back to him; he hadn’t quite gotten there with Becky, and then they broke up. But he’d shied away from saying it since then. Maybe that was why his girlfriends never made it past serious anymore. It was a reflex now, a defence mechanism more than anything.

Because the first time Barry Allen told a girl he loved her, he ended up in the hospital.

The second time, she sicced a psychiatrist on him because he made the same mistake.

There wasn’t a third time.

Barry tried not to think about it, that first time especially, but apparently his brain had decided he’d had too much of a decent day for what it was, and he was dreaming about it. He was seventeen and already long as a rake, but he hadn’t quite reached his full height of six foot two yet. He had, however, reached peak nerdiness, and everyone at National City High knew it. Nobody knew about his father, though, Aunt Carol and Cousin Tim had made sure of that. Barry was nothing but an orphan from a distant relative. There was nothing more interesting to him than that.

Which was why everyone, Barry included, was surprised that Lacey Luthor wanted him to be her boyfriend. Beautiful, popular Lacey Alexandra Luthor. He still remembered the day she asked him, about a month into their senior year of high school while he was helping with her chemistry homework in the library. Truth be told, he’d still been surprised _that_ had happened, Lacey was part of the rich and successful Luthor family that came from Metropolis and wasn’t her uncle the owner of LexCorp? But, as she explained with a hint of annoyance, that didn’t mean she was as _smart_ as them. That didn’t mean she didn’t need his _help_. When she asked him to be her boyfriend a few weeks later, it had taken him about five seconds of stunned silence to agree.

He wasn’t sure whether they were like all the other couples, not at the time. All they ever seemed to do was hang out in his or her room and do homework, or hang out in the library and do homework. Lacey had told him it was because she hadn’t wanted to flaunt it in front of everyone, that was they had was too special to compare it to anything else anyone else had at their high school. It wasn’t until he was sitting in a hospital bed a month later that he realised bitterly that she was embarrassed to be seen with him, that she was using him, and that she’d probably spent the entirety of their ‘relationship’ – if you could call it that – laughing at him behind his back with her friends. That’s what it meant, he’d realised, when she’d stroked his hair to make him blush and stammer, pushing up the glasses he didn’t need anymore back up his nose, whenever she wanted something, because _of course_ he’d do her homework because he did want her to succeed _didn’t he_? And then he’d feel like the world’s best boyfriend as he scribbled answers on her geometry quiz, because she was always saying how grateful she was and how smart he was. It wasn’t always like that, though. Lacey was very gracious whenever she came over to his house for dinner – a special affair because neither Tim nor Carol had ever expected Barry to have decent friends, let a alone date the richest girl in National City. And Mr and Mrs Luthor were always lovely whenever he stuttered his way through a conversation with them over dinner in their grand dining room with the servants and the gold-trimmed tablecloth, especially when they showed little Luke how to fix his toy plane. Maybe that was why he’d convinced himself that he was in love with her.

 _I love you._ They were in her room, kissing – none of them were quite ready for anything else – when he’d blurted it out. Looking back, maybe he was disappointed that she hadn’t actually said it back, but she had called him cute. He didn’t care, though, because even though he’d grown up without his parents, he knew that when you loved someone, you had to tell them everything. That you _could_ tell them everything.

So he had.

Lacey had known that his mother was dead and she was sympathetic, but of course she hadn’t known about his father and maybe Barry should have realised it from her expression then. Because when he was explaining that his father had been killed by something impossible and that one day he was going to prove that he was innocent and it felt _so good_ to finally tell someone. But all she said was,

“I don’t get it. I thought your parents died in an accident.”

Barry sighed at the lie that his relatives had made him tell. “That’s just what they wanted me to tell you, but it isn’t true. My mother was murdered.”

Lacey scrunched her nose up. “By a man in a red ball of lightning?”

He didn’t like the way she said that, but he was used to it. “I remember it, Lacey. He exploded into my house like…Like nothing I’d ever seen before, and something whisked me outside, but not before I saw him – _it_ – kill my mom. But by the time I got back they were arresting my dad for the murder.”

Lacey hadn’t said anything for a long time. “That’s…wow, Barry. I can’t believe it.”

Barry had nodded. “Nobody ever does, but it’s true. It feels great to tell you, Lacey.”

He’d had to leave then because of his curfew, but he was buzzing with the idea that someone loved him so that meant they would believe him. Never mind the fact that she hadn’t actually said it. The next day, he arrived at school with some of the evidence on the impossible he’d gathered in his bag, from the man on the Pacific who could apparently talk to fish to a a woman with super strength that lived somewhere in Europe.

But Barry never got the chance.

They were crossing each other in the hallway during lunch period and Lacey was surrounded by her friends – they didn’t acknowledge each other with anything more than a nod and a smile, as per her instructions – but today was different. Chester Krull, who’s neck Barry swore was the size of his thigh, broke off from the group to face him. Barry swallowed.

“Hey, Chester.”

“Allen,” he said, tilting his head to the side. “How are you doing?”

“I’m okay.”

“How’s your dad?”

“M-My dad’s dead,” he muttered, adjusting his bag. “You know that, Chester.”

“That’s not what I heard. I heard he’s in prison for killing your mother. Is that true?”

Barry felt his heart drop like a stone. It was clear that the entire group knew what was going on. Lacey, to her credit, had the good grace to look a little guilty. “Did you…” Barry stopped before his voice broke. “Did you tell everyone?”

“Not everyone,” she said quickly. “Just a couple of people, and I guess they told everyone else. But you have to admit, you sounded a little crazy, Barry. I mean, a man in a red ball of lightning?” She laughed nervously and everyone joined in. Barry’s jaw worked as he felt the familiar feeling burn his throat, and willed himself to stop the tears from coming until he was alone – he could hide in the library for the rest of the day. Or the rest of the year.

“Yeah, well, I’d better get away before I infect you with all my crazy,” he said bitterly. He made to move away, but Chester shoved him back.

“You know, I didn’t believe it when Lacey told us, but then I looked it up on the school computers. Your dad murdered your mom, didn’t he? Went crazy and stabbed her with a kitchen knife, and then he got _you_ to lie about it.”

“That’s not what happened,” he muttered, clenching his fists, and Chester sneered at him.

“Really? That’s not what the jury found out. Took them fifty-two minutes to convict him. That says guilty to me,” he said, shoving him again, and Barry punched him in the face.

“ _That’s not what happened_!” he shouted. “ _He didn’t do it_!”

But that was as far as he got, one punch, because the next thing he knew someone had shoved him back into the lockers and then punched him in the stomach. Barry’s vision blurred as someone ripped his glasses off, and then someone yelled ‘Fight!’ and everything dissolved into pain. They hit him all over – his arms, his body, his legs, even his head. He’d tried to fight back at first, he really did, but there were too many of them, and nobody was coming to help. So they just kept hitting him. And hitting him.

 _And hitting him_.

***

Barry awoke gasping, shaking, and covered in sweat. He hadn’t had that nightmare in so long, he had almost managed to convince himself that it hadn’t happened, or that it had happened to another person. But it hadn’t. He got out of bed and staggered to his bathroom, before splashing some water on his face. God. _God_. He hated this day. He glanced back at his bed, then immediately dismissed the idea of going back to bed. He was far too wired, and he’d probably have the same nightmare again. He looked at the time: 1.33am. What a ludicrous time not to be able to go back to sleep – no one would be awake, so it’s not like there was anyone he could talk-

 _Iris_.

She was always up at ridiculous times, texting him random questions in the middle of the night and demanding he answer them with that insistent tone that she had even in text messages. He grabbed his phone and fired off a quick message. Are you awake?

 _Of course I’m awake. Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these brave journalists from writing about hard scienc-y stuff_.

Barry laughed out loud, the sound breaking the grieving silence, but couldn’t think of anything to say in reply.

_Barry, what’s wrong?_

How do you know anything’s wrong?

_Because your favourite thing to do is correct me when I say ‘scienc-y’._

Instead of replying, he called her. She answered on the first ring, her voice worried. “Barry, you okay? Did something happen?”

The phone was clutched in his hand like a lifeline, his knuckles turning white under the pressure. “I…”

“Bar, please say something.”

He swallowed. “My mom died.”

Barry didn’t hear anything but a sigh of ‘oh’ and something that sounded like understanding. “When?” she asked softly.

“Fourteen years ago.”

“You can’t sleep.” It wasn’t a question.

Barry shook his head, realised she couldn’t see him, and sighed. “No.”

“Hold on,” she said, and hung up. Barry just stared at the phone. What did she mean ‘hold on’? But he didn’t have long to wait because twenty minutes later, during which time he tried and failed to do some reports, someone rang his doorbell. He frowned and went to answer it, and was surprised to find Iris standing there in jeans and a Northwestern jersey, a bag of takeout in one hand and a backpack on her back. She smiled at him.

“Iris, what-” he looked up and down the hall, but she appeared to be alone. “What are you doing here? How did you find my address?”

“It occurred to me,” she answered as he let her in, “that I still owe you Chinese food for your services as the CCPN slave. And I may have unauthorised access to my father’s police personnel files.”

“Oh.”

Iris studied him. “I brought work if you don’t want to talk,” she said, gesturing to her backpack, “and I brought food because, well, I’m hungry, but Linda never lets me be alone on days like this.”

Days like this – of course. Joe was a widower; his wife had died twenty years ago. Iris would have been five and Wally three? Four? So that was another thing they had in common. She peered at him when he didn’t answer. “I can go, if you-”

“ _No_ ,” he said forcefully. As soon as he’d heard her voice on the phone, he felt a little less adrift. “No. You can stay. I want you to stay.”

She gave him a small smile and followed him into his lounge, setting the food on the coffee table and taking out one of the boxes before settling on the couch with her laptop. Barry sat on the couch, lost in thought. They lapsed into a comfortable silence as Iris worked, the only sound the occasional shuffling of papers and chewing. One thing Iris had learned about grief was that you had to let that other person navigate it themselves. You didn’t tell people how to mourn, you didn’t tell them how to feel. Iris was not there to make him feel how everyone said you _should_ feel on the anniversary of your mother’s death. She was there to hold him up while he was feeling what he was feeling.

Barry waited a long time before he said anything. “It’s not just that she’s dead,” he said quietly after a while. Iris looked at him. “It would be okay if it was just that, but it wasn’t. She was…taken from us. She was murdered.”

Iris didn’t ask how. Her mother had simply been sick for a long time, and then it was over. Nobody but life had taken Francine West from her family.

“It was…a home invasion,” Barry said quietly, the lie that he’d learned to repeat rolling off his tongue easily. “He just came in to steal something, and then killed her. I saw it from the stairs.”

“Bar…” she whispered softly.

“I always think what would have happened if I’d been braver. If I’d called the police sooner or I’d yelled to scare him away. I know I shouldn’t, but I do. And now she’s gone, and my dad’s not around, and I just…I should have been better. I should have been _faster_.”

He put his head in his hands and Iris pushed her laptop onto the couch and stood up. “My mom used to say that nobody could hurt you when you were being hugged,” she said quietly. “And I happen to be very good at hugs.”

He looked up at her, eyes wide, and she shrugged. “I’m serious. They’re one of my superpowers.”

“Superpowers?”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you?” she said lightly. “I’m a regular wonder woman, Barry Allen. All five feet four inches of me.”

He looked at her, uncertain, and she held a hand out to him. “Come here, Barry.”

Barry let her guide him into the hug, wrapping her arms around him as he folded himself on top of her small body. “Is this where the music plays?”

“Patience, mortal. Superpowers require time.”

He laughed into her hair and sighed, savouring the feeling of her arms around him. She was surprisingly steady and smelled faintly of cocoa butter and lavender shampoo. He could feel her heart beating, slow and steady against his own, and he closed his eyes.

“I want you to know you’re not alone, Barry,” Iris said quietly. “I know it feels like you are, sometimes, but I promise you’re not.”

And that was when the tears came, spilling onto Iris’ shoulder because his mother was dead and his father was in prison and people had called him crazy his whole fucking life, had made fun of him and disowned him and broken his ribs for it. And they kept hitting him. _Life_ kept hitting him.

He wasn’t aware that he was shaking until Iris was rubbing his back and stroking his hair. “It’s okay, Barry, I’m here. It’s just me, it’s just us, and you’re okay. You’re fine.”

Barry didn’t know what to do that meant he wouldn’t fall apart, so he just nodded into her shoulder and believed her, tried as hard as he could to believe her when she told him he was okay. He clung to her like she was his anchor, his head buried in her shoulder, and was grateful that she didn’t seem to mind that he was blubbering quietly onto her clothes. So he just stood there and let her hold him and tried to find some calm away from the raging grief in his mind.

He didn’t know how long they stood there, holding each other, but eventually Barry stopped shaking. And the moment would have ended perfectly if his stomach hadn’t rumbled right then. They looked down at his stomach, then looked at each other, and then burst out laughing. “Unfortunately, that’s where my superpowers end,” she giggled. “That _is_ what the dumplings are for, though.”

She handed him a box and then went to sit back down on the other couch as they ate. “Do you…Are you always alone on this day?” she asked tentatively. “What do you usually do?”

“Distract myself, mostly. Uh, you know I mentioned that professor that Wally and I had?”

“…the one who wrote about the hard water?”

“Heavy water,” he corrected, smiling. “Jay. Well, he was kind of like a brother to me while I was there. It sounds kind of weird, I know.”

Iris shrugged. “Not really. Everybody needs people.”

“Right. And, um, I liked to watch the stars.”

“The stars?”

“Uh-huh. Clear night, just go outside and watch the stars for a few hours. I figure nothing in the world can be so bad when you’re watching something as beautiful as the stars.”

***

Eventually Kara Danvers called a teacher and they found him, bruised and bleeding on the floor. His relatives were called quickly while he sat in the infirmary, clutching his side against the roaring pain there and blinking behind his broken glasses.

Tim and Carol were livid when they found out what happened. “We told you,” Tim snapped, “we told you not to tell anyone, and now look what happened. You know how people are, Bartholomew.”

“He didn’t do it,” Barry muttered, his voice high with pain, and Tim glared at him.

“Fat lot of good that attitude got you, didn’t it?”

The principal looked from them to Barry. “This was a very serious attack. I trust you’ll be pressing charges?”

“No,” Tim said shortly. “It was just a fight; these things happen with kids.”

“Mr Finch-”

“No, thank you. It was a misunderstanding, that’s all.”

“We don’t want to cause Barry any stress,” Carol said softly, but Barry knew she was lying. Carol taught at the local elementary school and Tim was a community leader. It was bad enough that everyone would likely knew they’d taken in the son of a murderer; they sure as hell wouldn’t let him charge the people who had done this to him. “Do we, Barry?”

Barry swallowed and said what he was always supposed to say. “I’m okay. I’m fine.” The movement caused blood to trickle out of his nose. Carol bent to touch him, her expression uncharacteristically concerned, but Barry flinched away from her, even though it hurt like hell. He didn’t want any of them to touch him. Of course, that was when he pitched forward and they called an ambulance, and they’d later learn that he’d sustained a concussion when Chester had slammed him against the lockers.

Barry stayed in the hospital for six weeks and his whole class came to visit them, but he’d only wanted to see Kara (who he’d later ditch prom with to get drunk and pretend they were superheroes in her garden, before they lost their virginity to each other in her bed), and his friends from the science club. He would have laughed when Chester and his friends trooped into his room brandishing apology letters that they had obviously been forced to write, but his ribs were still healing at that point. Then Lacey had come in with her father, who’d bought him an expensive new laptop because his had broken when he dropped his bookbag. He listened to her apology, focusing on the light fixture behind her instead of her face, before accepting the letter that may or may not have been sincere. He still hadn’t read it, or any of the others. He wasn’t about to let a lifetime subscription to free electronics from LexCorp go to waste, though. He wasn’t an idiot.

It was on this new laptop that Barry got his first glimpse of True North.

Kara and his other friends had left him alone for the day after bringing him his homework, but he hadn’t really felt like it since chemistry had started this whole mess in the first place. So he did what he usually did and randomly googled ‘proving the impossible’ to see whether anything had come up lately. He scrolled through all the crappy conspiracy theories (Robert Queen was Superman? _Really_?) and was about to give up when he came across something new. It was a blog, but none of the ones he recognised, and it didn’t seem to have any actual unexplainable information on it. But Barry clicked it anyway, and found some text under a little red compass. Intrigued, Barry began to read.

_I don’t really know why I’m writing this. Something to while away the time, I guess, but proving the impossible sounds like something that will take more than a few weeks._

_I saw something weird today. Something…Impossible. Or something that should be. Nobody believes me, but I know what I saw. I don’t know what it is or where it came from or where it’s going, but I think I finally understand the feeling people get when they believe in something that no one else does._

_So that’s me. I’m going to prove the impossible, if I can. See if I can make some believers out of these people. And to all of the people who nobody ever believed, who were always called crazy when they stuck to their guns? I hope you find it. I hope you find your north star. This is me saying I believe you._

_Believe in the impossible._

_True North_.

 

Barry didn’t know where the feeling came from – and he still didn’t – but he felt a strange kinship with this anonymous blogger. They sounded uncertain but strong, the way he tried to be, like they were hungry for discovery. So it was almost unconsciously that he typed a reply. The very first reply, since the site counter said he was the only one who’d read it so far.

 _I believe you, too_.

He signed it ‘the Scientist’.

Because scientists had always known the beauty of watching the stars.

***

“Watching the stars, huh?” Back in he present, Iris tipped her head to one side and studied him. “Never done that before.”

“Maybe you should try it,” he suggested lightly.

“Maybe I will,” she smiled.

When Barry briefly checked in with work before he went to CCPN on Monday, he was more than a little embarrassed. In fact, he would have been happy to discover the whole thing was nothing more than a dream and he _hadn’t_ been crying into Iris’ shoulder in the wee hours. But no, there were the leftover cartons of Chinese food in his fridge. God, could he have been any more embarrassing?

“Hey, Allen,” Chyre said as he traipsed up the stairs to his lab. He’d submitted some reports and then went upstairs to straighten up. “Someone left something for you up there.”

“For me? What is it?”

But Chyre just shrugged, so Barry went into his lab to find a huge pink bakery box on his desk. _For use in emergencies. Iris, xoxo_.

Barry grinned as he opened the box to reveal…half a pan of brownies. On top of the pan was another note. _Brownies are also my weakness. Sorry!_

He was still laughing when he got to CCPN to find her so he could read through her article. That is, until he came face to face with her boss. “Grump-Mr Bridge,” he corrected himself. “Mason. Mr Bridge. Um, is Iris here?”

Mason stared at him, before slowly pointing to Iris’ desk. “You are a strange young man.”

“Thank you, sir. I mean…” But Mason just walked off.

“Barry!” Iris smiled as he sat down. “You know, you’re _almost_ on time.”

“Almost?”

“You’ll get there.” She paused. “You okay?”

He nodded. “I’m fine. Thanks.”

She squeezed his hand briefly. “Good. I’m glad.”

“And I’m sorry about, you know…”

“Barry, I have consoled a troupe of drunk cheerleaders on Mardi Gras, as well as a drunk Linda and a _high_ Felicity. Believe me, you were a picnic. Ready to work?”

“Of course.”

“Cool. So, I’m thinking we’ve got background and basics covered…”

As Iris continued, smiling her sunshine smile when she got to a part she was particularly proud of, Barry thought that the stars were good, but maybe the sunshine was just as good. Maybe even better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I liked writing this one, despite the aforementioned funk, so I hope you liked it too! One more thing - I got a comment saying that the story is confusing and the person never wrote back, so I wanted to address it here. If something is confusing or contradictory or doesn't make sense, please let me know. I don't have any betas and I usually write and edit as I go along, so I don't usually catch mistakes until later. I'll be happy to explain something in the comments or in the following chapters if necessary. As always, I love you all for liking, reading and commenting.


	11. The Way You Make Me Feel (Crazy in Love)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Barry and Iris sing their feelings but refuse to feel them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is almost pure fluff and cuteness that I think we all deserve, but there's some plot-relevant stuff here too. Also, I have a couple of flashbacks and I THINK they make sense, but I'm also exhausted and I've done very little editing so I may catch mistakes later. Disclaimer: this chapter contains excerpts of 'Crazy in Love' by Beyonce Knowles and 'The Way You Make Me Feel' by Michael Jackson. All rights go to the writers of those songs.

“Okay,” Iris announced as she walked into the lab, “I’m ready to hear about the hard water!”

Barry popped up from behind a rack of test tubes and spotted her, giving her an amused look. “Heavy water, Iris,” he corrected fondly. She frowned at him as she walked up to his desk and sat down.

“What did I say?”

“You said – Hands off my fries!”

Iris chewed and swallowed guiltily. “What? I’m stress-eating! Mason has jumped up everyone’s asses this week – he even made an intern cry this morning! I don’t know what’s with him.”

“Grumpy cat continues to be grumpy,” Barry observed.

“Right? I’m lucky he even let me out at six. But this water professor better be worth it; I cancelled a date for this.”

Barry rolled his eyes and smiled. “He’s totally worth it. Do you have the flyer I got you?”

Iris pulled it out of her bag with a flourish and began to read. “’Professor Jason Garrick Donald is a pioneer in the study of heavy water and its uses. As one of the youngest ever professors to branch into the field, his meteoric rise continues to be unbroken even as he continues his tenure as Head of Physics as Notre Dame University. Central City University’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences are thrilled to have him as’ – Oh my God.”

Barry looked up in alarm. “What? What is it?”

Iris pointed at the picture. “Why didn’t you tell me he was this gorgeous?”

He blinked at her. “Uh…Jay is gorgeous?”

“God, and he’s smart, too? He’s so lucky, going through life getting to be beautiful _and_ brilliant.”

“Well, so are you,” Barry shrugged absently, marking something down on his reports. “I’ll be done soon, okay? Just ten more minutes.”

“Okay,” Iris said, thankful that Barry didn’t know she was blushing. Barry Allen had to be the sweetest human being on the planet, and she was starting to wonder how she’d ever gotten through life without him as her friend. Linda was more like her sister and she lived with her, Eddie was basically family too, and Felicity lived hundreds of miles away.  Barry was just… _Barry_. He fit perfectly into her life, like there had always been a gap waiting for him to fill. He was the friend she could send pictures of the grumpiest cats on the internet to and he’d always laugh at them, who never got irritated when she messaged him in the middle of the night, and who watched TV shows that he hated simply because she asked him to (the reason, she hadn’t stopped reminding him, she was coming along to this) and then texted her while he was watching.

Iris knew that he thought she was attractive. After all, there was his enthusiastic reaction to her brushing her mouth softly against his that night at CCPN, even if they’d agreed to be friends after that. But there was just something about the way that he so casually dropped it into the conversation that made her heart feel like it had wings. She was also surprised at how well they knew each other, even though they’d only met a little while ago. She knew that he liked most flavours of ice cream but in a pinch he’d choose chocolate, and he knew that her favourite was mint chocolate chip. She knew that he liked all kinds of TV shows except reality TV, and he knew that she would watch anything as long as it was entertaining. There was also the…other stuff, like the fact that she knew he liked her ass (because he’d been very enthusiastic about _that_ especially that night at CCPN, and she still sometimes caught him staring at it when he thought she wasn’t paying attention), and that kissing his right ear or tugging on it with your teeth meant that he was pretty much putty in your hands. She wondered if he knew how much she liked it when he ghosted his lips across her neck and shoulders, or that she really, _really_ liked the thing he could do with his hips…

Anyway. They were friends now. _Friends_.

And if they didn’t get a move on, they’d be late for all their _other_ friends.

“So, remind me who’s coming again?” Barry asked as they walked down the stairs to the atrium. Iris wrinkled her nose, trying to remember exactly how their little outing had turned into a group thing. They were having coffee – it had somehow turned into habit that they would meet each other at Jitters on certain days, so much so that she hadn’t noticed it was happening – and Barry had mentioned that his professor was coming to town and whether she wanted to hear his talk with him. Iris wasn’t particularly interested in science, but after seeing how broken Barry had been on the anniversary of his mother’s death, she’d wanted to meet the man who he called an older brother figure and had helped get him through it. So she’d agreed, although she had explicitly made him promise that he had to watch at least five more episodes of _Pretty Little Liars_ so they could talk about it.

That was when Wally had come up with their orders and, having caught the tail end of the conversation, asked Barry about it, who’d invited him along as well. The next evening, Barry had sheepishly texted her to say that Ronnie, Caitlin and Cisco were coming too because they’d excitedly heard him talking about it to Dr Wells. Then, when Iris, Felicity and Linda were at their apartment and she had to decline dinner with them because she was going to a thing with Barry, Felicity said she wanted to join them. Iris didn’t mind. Of course, she’d prefer to spend it with just him because then she could randomly ask questions about her article, but it wasn’t as if they didn’t spend half of their time together anyway.

She hadn’t realised when that happened. Or when it became normal for her.

“Ronnie, Cisco, Caitlin, Felicity and Wally,” she answered. “Oh, and he’s bringing a couple of friends from his engineering course. Wally’s downstairs, but his friends are meeting him there.”

“Cool,” he replied. “Let me just give this report to your dad and we can go. Hey, Joe?”

They walked over to her dad’s desk, where he was talking to Wally about something. He smiled when he saw her and took the report from Barry. “Hey, baby girl. I didn’t know you were here.”

“She had to go drag CSI the Dork away from his test tubes,” Wally answered helpfully.

“Why is it that you’re only ever here anymore to visit Barry?” Joe wanted to know. “I work here too, you know.”

“Well, there’s the article, and that I know for a fact that Barry, unlike you, likes me more than he likes big ears over here,” she said, tweaking her brother’s ears. She flashed a grin at Barry. “Don’t you, Bar?”

“Is that so?” Joe raised his eyebrows. Barry shrugged.

“Well, Iris does call me by my actual name on occasion, which is nice.”

Wally scoffed. “Where’s the fun in that? Where would you be if I couldn’t entertain you?”

“Whatever. Are you ready?”

They said their goodbyes to Joe and made their way uptown to the university campus. Wally immediately messaged his friends and Iris turned to Barry, but then frowned up at him. “What?” he asked.

“Your collar,” she answered. “It’s been annoying me for the last fifteen minutes.” She reached up to straighten it for him, ignoring the way Barry’s Adam’s apple bobbed as her fingers skimmed his throat. “There, you’re good.”

“Thanks,” he smiled.

As they walked to the university, and Wally started talking to Barry about uranium deposits as soon as he got off the phone, Iris made a mental note that she had to stop that when she got to the talk. Actually, it would probably be best to stop doing it at all. It had been a habit since she was small – fixing people’s clothes, stroking their hair, hugging them – she was a touchy person. But Felicity, with her knowing eyes and rambling ways and secret knowledge of what was on the tape of her and Barry’s unprofessional behaviour (which she _really_ needed to get rid of; she did not need her father coming across what was basically a sex tape when he came to visit), was going to be at the talk. The day that they’d come over from Star City, Iris had been in the middle of a conversation about their latest case with Oliver when Felicity had yanked her away from them and given her a knowing smile once the guys had wandered far enough. “So,” she said slowly. “That favour you asked me for last week? Because you did a really stupid thing and needed to get rid of the evidence? That ‘stupid thing’ didn’t happen to be a six-foot-tall CSI with pretty green eyes, did it?”

***

Joe West had been happy to see Felicity Smoak, but was pretty surprised when her friends walked in. She stepped out of his embrace as Iris led Oliver and Diggle to her father.

“Guys, this is Joe West, Iris’ dad,” she said. “Joe, this John Diggle and-”

“Oliver Queen,” Joe said, shaking both of their hands. “You all work together?”

“I’m Felicity’s boss,” Oliver explained. “John here is pretty much my right-hand man; I don’t know what I’d do without him. It’s nice to meet you, Mr West.”

“Please, call me Joe.” He looked at Iris. “Star City’s billionaire. You know Bruce Wayne, too?”

Iris laughed. “Every journalist in Gotham knows Bruce Wayne.”

“Iris helped us with something we were working on while she was in Star City,” Diggle explained.

“We consider her a dear friend,” Oliver added, smiling. Joe nodded.

“Well, that’s always good to hear. What brings you to town?”

“Company business,” he answered swiftly. “The engineering subsidiary of Queen Consolidated is here and we have some things to discuss with the division president.”

“Big, scary stuff,” Felicity added helpfully. “Lots of numbers and projections and quotas. Hey, where’s Wally? I’d love to see him.” Joe rolled his eyes.

“If I know him, he’s still at the university working on that…thing that he’s working on.” He looked at Iris, who shrugged. “Maybe we should write it down?”

“But you should come over for dinner on Sunday. Wally wants to cook.”

“He does?” Iris asked. “That’s not like him.”

“Yeah, apparently he learned how to make spicy beef tamales and he’s very excited.”

“That sounds awesome,” Felicity said. Iris nodded and absolutely did not mention the fact that spicy beef tamales happened to be Linda’s favourite food. She would tell her when they were alone, and she’d also invite Barry, because that was going to be a damn entertaining dinner. “Especially because I haven’t-”

“Felicity?”

“Eddie!”

“Bette?”

“ _Dig_!”

“…I am _so_ lost right now,” Iris said in a low voice. Eddie and Bette were leaving the precinct, in the middle of yet another conversation about oil prices with Bill, the slightly inept night-guard, when they spotted the group standing in the atrium. Diggle and Bette were hugging, and everyone looked just as confused as she felt. “How do you two know each other?”

“Bette and I did our first two tours together, before General Eiling stole her away from us,” Diggle explained after they’d made the introductions. He grinned at her. “Still working for that old jackass?”

“You’re the one babysitting billionaires,” she shot back. “No offence, Mr Queen.”

“None taken – I think we can all agree that sometimes I need to be babysat.”

“And since you asked,” Bette continued, “that jackass is one of the people currently ruining my life.” Eddie stroked her hair.

“It’s okay, honey. We’ll find another place to have the dinner.”

“In two weeks? All the Italian restaurants are booked solid.”

Iris frowned. “Wait, what happened? What’s going on?”

“The shootout happened at the place where Eddie and Bette were going to have their engagement dinner,” Joe explained. Oliver and Diggle looked at each other guiltily.

“And the jackass known as General Eiling pushed up the start of her tour, so she has to go next month instead of January.”

Iris looked horrified. “ _What_? Oh you guys, I’m so sorry!”

Bette shrugged, that soldier’s ability to adapt to change evident in her determined face, the set of her shoulders. “Well, we always knew that could happen, that’s why we made the wedding small. It’s just that we wanted to have the dinner before I left, you know?”

“Yeah, it’s a shame about that,” Iris said, giving Oliver a meaningful look.

“Hey, Oliver, don’t you guys own a chain of Italian restaurants?” Felicity suggested innocently. Oliver looked at her, she smiled winningly at him, and Iris looked at Diggle and they both tried not to smile. “I’m sure one of them would be happy to make an opening if you asked.

“No,” Eddie said immediately. “I mean, that’s nice, but we couldn’t-”

“It’s not a problem,” Oliver interrupted easily. “I’m happy to do it – anyone who’s a friend of Diggle’s is a friend of mine. Besides, what’s the point of being a billionaire if you can’t use it to help your friends?”

“Well, then we insist that you come too,” Bette said, sharing a look with her fiancé, who nodded. “We’d be honoured to have you.”

“And we’ll be honoured to be there.”

“Aw, Ollie,” Iris cooed. “You’re such a big softie.”

“Felicity will make the arrangements,” Oliver continued, looking at her. “Since she’s been so helpful already.”

Later, while they were getting dinner, Iris and Felicity were still talking about it. “Do you always run Oliver like that?”

“Oh, please,” she groaned. “Did you see him before they went back to our hotel? I’m going to be hearing about that stunt for weeks.”

“So? That’s what happens when you’re _married_.”

“Would you stop? I have to compete with the memory of two incredibly bendy assassins and Laurel Lance.”

Iris frowned at her over her spaghetti. “Bendy assassins?”

“Oliver was marooned on the island with assassins and mercenaries and soldiers, two of whom happened to to be women who were in love with him.”

“Right. And the bendy part?”

“I don’t know. They were assassins – I’m assuming they’re bendy.”

“Oh. And how’s Laurel?”

Felicity crunched her breadstick. “Better than the last time you were here. They’re…talking, instead of yelling, which is good. Everything’s better than the yelling. But nobody cares about that – I want to know about you and the super hot sex with Barry.”

“How did you know it was super hot?”

“I may have texted Linda while you were in the bathroom.”

“Okay,” Iris said, putting her fork down. “I am calling Hoboken rules on whatever happened between Barry and me. Do I need to explain Hoboken rules to you?”

“I remember Hoboken rules. But you can tell _me_.”

She shrugged. “There’s nothing to tell. We had really… _really_ hot sex in probably the most inappropriate place you could think of, and then we decided that we would just be friends. We’re going to be working with each other until Christmas, and-”

“Kyle?” Felicity suggested softly. Iris had called her when she’d moved to explain what happened. Iris sighed.

“Right. I’m not ready to be in a relationship now, not after coming out of three years of being someone else’s girlfriend. And I like having Barry as a friend, you know? It’s just so easy with him.”

“Well, that’s good,” Felicity said. “That you’re friends. And friends…tell each other stuff, right?”

“…right.”

“Like, deep stuff. _Personal_ stuff.”

Iris put down her fork. “Felicity. Why are you being weird?”

Her hacker friend laughed nervously. “What do you mean? I’m not being weird. Well, no more than normal. I’m just the normal amount of weird. The normal amount of weird for me.”

“ _None_ of that was normal, even for you. You’re being squirrelly.”

“Squirrels are cute.”

“Felicity.”

“Just…” she sighed. “Barry might be going through a hard time right now, that’s all. It’s not my place to tell you exactly what, but I know that he could really use his friends. He doesn’t have a lot of… people in his corner.”

***

Of course, Iris had come to know exactly what that meant when Barry called her later that night, his voice raw and aching with a grief that she could recognise in her bones. There hadn’t really been a question of going over to his apartment to comfort him. One minute, she’d been sat at her desk trying to perfect the final draft of the first part of her article, and the next she was making her way across town with food. She knew that grief; she couldn’t leave him alone. She was surprised, though, with the strength of her conviction that she could not leave Barry Allen _alone_.

They hadn’t talked about it much in the two weeks since, but sometimes she’d catch Barry looking a little lost or pensive or a million miles away, and she would touch his arm or catch his eye, her own full of concern. And his answering smile would tell her _I’m okay_ without him even opening his mouth, and they’d carry on. It was their little secret, that night of hugs and comfort and chicken dumplings. Well, and the other, more unprofessional secret. That both Linda and Felicity knew, but thankfully, Hoboken rules meant they were sworn to secrecy under some pretty concrete terms.

“Iris? Hey, earth to ladybird,” Wally said, snapping her out of her thoughts. “We’re here.”

“Sorry,” she said. Iris whistled at the crowds that were already gathering in the courtyard of the Applied Sciences building. “Whoa, this Jay guy is pretty popular, huh?”

“Jay’s incredible,” he grinned. “I can’t wait for you guys to meet him. Look, everyone’s over there.”

They walked over to their group of friends and Wally waved his over – Farooq and Kendra, Iris remembered them both from Wally’s birthday earlier in the year – before they all devolved into a bustling conversation about heavy water and its uses. Just as they were making their way up the stairs to the seats, and Iris was figuring out how the hell she was going to last the next hour without looking like a complete idiot when she felt someone tap her arm.

“Iris,” Barry said quietly. She looked up at him.

“Yeah?”

“You can sit next to me so I can explain stuff. Not that I’m calling you stupid,” he added quickly. “Just, I get that it might be overwhelming being surrounded by science nerds.”

“Well, apparently I have a thing for nerds,” she said, gesturing to Felicity and Wally talking with his friends and, despite herself, thinking of Dawn. She nudged him. “Don’t worry, though. You’re my favourite.”

“I-I am?”

“Sure you are. None of these other nerds let me eat their French fries.”

Barry laughed. “Well, it’s not like I have much of a choice against the will of the great Iris West.”

“I am pretty great, aren’t I?”

“Yeah, you are,” he replied. He looked down at the centre podium, where a very tall, attractive man was walking out to the sounds of applause. “Hey, it’s starting.”

“ _Ladies and gentlemen, I am Professor Jason Garrick Donald…_ ”

***

“… _and with the right approach and a healthy amount of dedication, I have no doubt that we all can make a contribution to future nuclear research. Thank you_.”

When Iris stood up and applauded along with the rest of the room, it was genuine. Even though she’d barely understood the beginning and had to rely on Barry and google to get through it, she found herself absorbed into what he was saying. He was so passionate and so incredibly intelligent, but he also radiated a warmth that meant she felt personally included in whatever great research goal they were working towards. Despite the fact that her last foray into the physical sciences was a volcano for the science fair that got both Iris and Linda detention for a week (which Iris still maintained was Becky Cooper’s fault). She could see why Barry loved him so much.

And Barry did love him – she could see it in the way that he watched Jay move around the stage as he explained his theories and research and told jokes, completely rapt only in the way a little brother looked up at his big brother. The minute it was over and Jay stepped off the podium people surged towards him for questions, and Barry and Wally took one look at each other and practically raced down the steps. Iris laughed to herself and went to find Caitlin and Felicity.

“That was fun,” Iris said breezily.

“Really illuminating,” Felicity said. “Even though nuclear physics isn’t usually my realm of expertise.”

“Oh, I agree,” Caitlin added. “Nice to get some perspective on research in the applied sciences.”

“How long did it take you to stop staring at Jay and start paying attention?”

“Three minutes,” Felicity answered immediately.

“Five minutes,” Iris grinned.

“Please,” Caitlin scoffed. “I’m a geneticist – I studied him for a good ten minutes before I heard anything coming out of his mouth. It’s like he was made in a lab.”

“Aren’t you engaged to Ronnie?” Felicity pointed out. “He looks pretty lab-made himself.”

“A true geneticist appreciates the beauty of variation.”

Iris laughed. “Well, can’t blame you for that, I-”

“Iris!” She turned as she heard Barry calling her name; he was standing with a woman that she didn’t recognise. He smiled and waved her over; and the woman smiled at her as she walked up to them. She was beautiful, slim with light red hair and light brown eyes.

“Iris, this is Joan Williams, Jay’s wife,” he said as they shook hands. “Joan, this is Iris West, the reporter from CCPN I was telling you about.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” she said. “You’re from Keystone?”

“Yes, I’m a party planner, which means that my husband always throws the best shindigs,” she answered. “Barry tells me you’re the one writing an article about Dr Harrison Wells and his Particle Accelerator?”

“Yes, I am. Not usually my thing, but Barry’s been a great help so far.”

Joan reached up – she was taller than Iris, but Barry still had ridiculously long legs – and ruffled his hair. “That sounds like Barry – always helping people.”

Barry blushed and glanced at his shoes. “Thanks. How long are you guys in town for?”

“We’re leaving this Saturday. Jay’s pretty upset – he really wanted to see the Diamonds play, but he’s starting some big project when he gets back and he needs to prep. He’s making us avoid the internet until he gets to watch.”

“Not a big sports fan?”

“I mean, I like football and the Olympics,” Joan admitted. “Baseball? Not so much. That season is pretty rough for my marriage, let me tell you.”

“Try living with a sports reporter in baseball season. Basketball’s always been more my thing.”

“Oh, like Barry?”

Iris looked up at him. “What do you mean, like Barry?”

“Oh, he didn’t tell you? Jay and Barry used to play basketball together.”

She nudged him, grinning. “You played basketball?”

“I _tried_ to play basketball,” Barry corrected her. “I wasn’t very good at it.”

“Anything else?”

Joan thought for a moment. “There was the running.”

“There was running?”

“Joan…” Barry groaned. Joan sighed.

“Running track is nothing to be ashamed of, Barry.”

“It is when you look like a duck on morphine when you run,” he deadpanned.

“Oh my God,” Iris giggled, her hand over her mouth. “I’m telling Cisco.”

“Nice try. He already knows.”

“About the basketball or the track?”

“Both.”

“ _Damn it_.”

“Did someone start the party without me?” a deep, familiar voice said. Joan turned and kissed her husband lightly on the cheek. Then he looked at Barry and grinned. “I’d better talk to my biggest fan before I get hauled off into a discussion about hydraulics again.”

“That was a great speech, Jay,” Barry gushed. “Seriously. It’s almost as good as the book.”

“That’s because the book has been through six rounds of revisions and my dragon-tamer of an editor, and I wrote the speech two days ago,” he answered. His wife slapped his arm lightly. “Maybe you don’t reveal you wrote that speech after three glasses of wine while your editor is right behind you, honey. Have you met Iris?”

“I haven’t had the pleasure,” he said warmly, shaking her hand. Jay was even more good-looking up close, with sandy blonde hair and dark blue eyes, and was even taller than Barry. He studied her. “You wouldn’t happen to be related to the young engineer I was just speaking with, would you? The one Barry introduced me to earlier?”

“Wally,” Barry answered helpfully. “Iris is his sister.”

“Of course – Barry’s told me a lot about you.”

Iris looked up at Barry, her face worried. “Oh, God.”

“Nothing bad, don’t worry,” Jay said. “I’m looking forward to your thoughts on the Accelerator, since Barry and I have been following Dr Wells for practically his whole career.”

“That’s not quite as impressive as Barry, sweetheart,” Joan said. “Since you started in your early twenties and Barry started when he was ten.”

Barry chuckled. “Well, we can’t all be as impressive as me. I hear ten-year-old science dorks who read books that are twice their size are the next big thing. Could be even bigger than Superman.”

“You wish,” Iris laughed, and Barry made a face at her. She turned back to Jay. “So I’m guessing you’re not one of the people who wants it shut down, then.”

“I wouldn’t say I wanted it shut down, per se. Dr Wells always been a maverick when it comes to particle physics, so I can understand why some all over the field may be a little apprehensive. His methods are…interesting, to say the least.”

“They are,” she answered, “when you can understand them. Although from today I don’t think that’s your kind of science.”

“Yeah, Iris was a social scientist in college,” Barry explained. “You know, the baby sciences?”

Iris hit him. “Shut up.”

“Well, it’s true.

Joan looked between the two of them Jay laughed. “Well, I’d be happy to answer any questions you might have after that long-winded speech.”

She smiled at him. “I’d love to hear your opinion on Keyser’s use of lasers to disassociate hydro-fluorocarbons as opposed to the traditional methods of distillation or electrolysis.”

Barry blinked at her and Jay thought for a moment. “Well, I certainly admire the fact that his method is more energy-efficient than the Girdler sulphide process, but unfortunately it’s not as economically sound as we would like.”

Just then the dean of the university tapped Jay on the shoulder and beckoned him over. Joan hugged Barry quickly. “You’re coming over for dinner on Thursday, right?”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Barry said. Iris was surprised when Joan hugged her as well. “It was lovely meeting you, Iris.”

“You too.”

When they left to go mingle, she turned to see Barry was staring at her like she had grown a tail. “What?”

“Keyser’s use of lasers as opposed to the traditional methods of distillation or electrolysis?” he demanded.

“What, social scientists can’t be smart too?”

“Sorry,” he said, actually looking guilty. “I didn’t mean it like that. But I thought you said you didn’t know anything about nuclear physics.”

“Oh, I don’t,” she shrugged. “I googled it and memorised it to freak you out. God, you should have seen your face, I should have gotten a picture. And I know you didn’t mean it like that, Barry, I was kidding.”

“Okay. What did you think of Jay?”

“I think he knocked Oliver Queen of my list, that’s for sure. Sorry,” Iris added, giving him a guilty look. “But honestly, he’s great. He and Joan are adorable. You said you met them while you were in college?”

Barry nodded as they started to make their way back to their friends. “I don’t know if your dad told you this but, uh, I’m not really close with the people I lived with after my mom died,” he explained. “And then once during sophomore year of college, something happened and I couldn’t go back home for Thanksgiving, and I didn’t really want to spend it with them anyway. I was just going to spend it on campus and maybe get some work done and they let me spend it with them, and I thought it would be weird but it was…nice, you know? We just hung out, watched movies, baked pumpkin pies…they’re the closest thing to a family that I have.”

“Well, that alone makes them awesome to me,” she said firmly, and he grinned at her.

“Thanks, I’m really glad you like them.”

Right then Cisco strode up to them, grinning. “There you guys are. Ready?”

“Damn it,” Barry muttered. “I totally forgot.”

Iris glanced between the two of them. “Ready for what? What did you forget?”

“On the third Monday of every month, Cisco likes to make us all go to that karaoke bar down by the bookstore.”

“And they’re letting me play today,” Cisco added. “My piano chops are out of this world.”

“He’s trying to impress Kendra,” Caitlin said flatly, joining the conversation.

“Wally’s friend from school?” Iris asked.

“She also happens to be the most beautiful barista I have ever seen serve coffee.”

“ _That’s_ why you always get the coffee orders now,” Barry realised. “I thought you were just being nice.”

“Nope. And you owe me a song, Allen. Don’t think I don’t notice you singing around STAR Labs.”

“You sing?” Iris wanted to know. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It’s true,” Caitlin added. “He’s actually pretty good.”

“I want to hear you sing.”

Barry rolled his eyes. “And this is why I never tell anyone anything. No way.”

Iris put on her best puppy-dog eyes. “ _Please_ , Bar?”

Barry looked at her, groaned, and then sighed. “Fine. But only if you sing too.”

“Okay,” she said immediately. Barry blinked. “Damn. I was hoping you’d back out.”

“Not my style, Allen.” Thank god she had Linda, who loved this kind of thing.

Everyone agreed to the plan, especially when Iris told them all that Barry was singing. She texted Linda and Eddie to meet them there, too, and then she looked up in alarm as Felicity grabbed her arm. “Whoa, pretty girl, what’s up?”

“Oliver wants to know if you’ve heard anything about the case he’s working on.”

Iris frowned. “No, I don’t think so. The only gun-smuggling thing I heard about was the thing with Multiple Man, and he got arrested just before you guys got here.”

But Felicity was shaking her head. “No, it’s not a gun-smuggling thing, it’s more serious than that. Oliver’s being totally mysterious again, but he asked me to ask you if there were any random reports of violence.”

“…no, none that I can think of. But I’ll keep you posted.”

“Thanks. What about you? True North got anything juicy to work on?”

Iris thought back to a week earlier, when she’d been working on her blog and, of course, texting Barry while he was on his lunch break. “You know, I just might."

***

Iris I can’t believe you’re making me watch this

_Stop complaining and take it like a man_

This show is terrible

_That’s what makes it so gooooood_

I think I’m losing brain cells

Iris laughed and went back to her blog messages. Barry had lost a bet and now he was watching her trashy TV and hating it. Fine, maybe _Pretty Little Liars_ wasn’t Emmy-award winning television, but that first season had gotten her and Dawn through some pretty hard times when they were studying for their exams…

And Iris sighed, because she now she was thinking about Dawn, and that made her sad.

It was especially difficult to concentrate on her blog when she could see Linda lecturing the sports interns on what was going to happen when they went to the game in the next couple of weeks. Even though they were both senior editors, Linda had been here a full three years longer than she had, and so she had five interns to Iris’ two. That was alright for her, since she didn’t have that much work at the moment, and if she was honest, she wasn’t sure she could deal with training so many at once. It wasn’t that she thought they were stupid…It was just that there were only so many ways you could listen to a person explain what happened during a baseball game before you started to lose your mind.

“I hate them,” Linda groaned, slumping in the chair on the other side of Iris’ desk.

“You love them.”

“I do not.”

“A mother always loves her babies.”

“Does that keep her from the urge to strangle them?”

“Not necessarily.”

“Okay, then maybe I do love them.”

Iris laughed and looked over at them. “Well, they look like they’re doing okay now. Which ones are you taking to the game?”

“I haven’t decided yet,” she replied. “They’ve all made progress, but Steph and Christopher haven’t gone to a game yet. I figure I can get them to report on the game and I can do interviews.”

“And work on your super-duper top-secret project.”

“That’s the plan.”

“That you still won’t tell me about.”

“Nope.”

“I hate you.”

“You love me.”

Linda yawned and grabbed some M&Ms from the bowl on Iris’ desk while she continued to work. Since everyone but Linda and the interns had gone out for lunch, Iris felt comfortable looking through some of her blog messages and deciding what to tackle next. While writing the article on the Particle Accelerator was fun – and she was certain that was because of Barry – she wanted to do something exhilarating.

Iris narrowed her eyes. That was odd. She was getting reports of people being arrested for crimes that they swore they hadn’t committed, but were being convicted based on video footage. Plus, there was none of the glazed look in their eyes or the sharp, deliberate movements that meant they were being hypnotised. After a quick check to make sure that the Rag Doll was still in jail, Iris returned to the page. Maybe it was a copycat? But why would they wait almost ten years to start the crimes? Iris fished out her notepad and made some notes:

_Names?_

_Type of crime? Violent, robbery etc._

_Male/female split_

_Timeframe of crime and most recent crime_

_Were they arrested on the scene or after the incident?_

She hadn’t noticed when someone snuck up on her until she heard a voice say, “Oh, you read True North’s blog?”

Iris had switched to reader view instead of the master view, but that didn’t stop her irritation. “Jeez, Chris, privacy much?”

The pimply intern from CCU blushed. “Sorry, Ms West.”

Ew. Even if he _was_ seven years younger than her, she wasn’t going to stand for that. “Iris. Just don’t sneak up on me again, okay?”

“Sorry, won’t happen again. It’s just that I read her blog too, and I’ve been trying to figure out who she is for years.”

“You and the rest of America, Chris,” Annie called from the other end of the room. “Get the crullers and get back here.”

Chris did as he was told and sat back down. “But aren’t you guys the least bit curious? True North has got to be one of the most prominent modern mysteries of our time.”

Iris had been called lots of things in her twenty-five years, but ‘modern mystery’ had to be her favourite. She caught Linda looking at her, asking with that familiar expression whether she should stop the conversation like she had when they were in high school and Iris hadn’t yet mastered lying about her blog, but Iris just waved her hand. She’d become used to people speculating her identity in front of her, but they tended to make the same mistakes. In the early years, for example, people had taken her short, non-descriptive sentences to mean that she was a man; only her mentioning that she’d felt like her bra was on fire during a particularly harrowing encounter with a criminal called Firefly meant they found out the truth.

Iris how do they have wi-fi in the woods

_Don’t question the Liars_

And why is no one discussing the stink-bomb

_All will be revealed, young grasshopper_

Wait who the fuck is Toby and WHY IS HE GIVING EMILY STALKER EYES?

Iris decided that now was the right time to leave Barry to witness the magic, and tuned back into the interns’ conversation.

“…if you study her movements, her writing, her posting pattern, her colloquialisms, and her level of education,” Chris continued, “you can make some guesses as to who she is. Or who she could be.”

“She must be in her early thirties at least,” Annie says, tapping at her computer screen. She twisted it round to show them. “You see all these references? Some of them are so obscure, nobody from our generation could understand them. Nobody these days watches _Happy Days_ anymore.”

“Not necessarily,” Steph said. “If she’s the youngest out of, like, five siblings, _they_ could have given her those references. Plus, there are also colloquialisms from there from the 60s and they’re all pretty specific, unless you think True North is middle-aged.”

“Okay, what about education level? What’s her area of expertise?”

“Law enforcement,” Todd said immediately. “Or at least had training it in.”

“See, I would have said computer science.”

Chris looked at her. “Why’s that, Steph?”

“Look at the quality of some of these photos, and the sophistication of the camera she uses. Plus, we can’t be the first people to ever wonder who she is, but no one’s ever found her? She must be a computer genius.”

“Why law enforcement, Todd?” Chris continued, turning to his friend.

“Well, True North hasn’t broken any laws. You remember that time she found the Ventriloquist and handcuffed her to a flagpole? Even though she’d knocked her out with something, the Ventriloquist was a public menace who attacked people and the handcuffs were plastic, which you can get in stores. That made it a citizen’s arrest, so I’m guessing True North has enough idea of the law not to get caught doing anything illegal. That way, if we _do_ find out who she is, nothing much will happen to her.”

“Well, apart from the fact that she’ll have half the country’s villains after her,” Annie added.

“Okay, chatting time is over,” Linda declared, standing up. “Whichever one of you has the best questions gets to come with me to see the Diamonds play the Rockets next week.”

Iris wasn’t fazed, though it was nice to realise that people were still running themselves in circles trying to find out who she was even after ten years. She had briefly thought about the criminals she’d helped put away coming after her, but that would only happen if she decided to reveal her identity, and she wasn’t doing that any time soon. She also had the utmost confidence in Felicity’s ability to keep her computer shielded. If not, well…Maybe she could call Superman and see if he wouldn’t mind becoming her personal bodyguard.

Iris turned back to her notebook. Okay, this looked like it could be leading somewhere. She flipped to a new page and started to draft.

***

“Oh God,” Felicity said once they got to the karaoke bar. “Oliver is going to hate every minute of this.”

“You told him to come, right?” Iris asked.

“Oh, definitely. But he doesn’t know there’s going to be singing.”

The minute the group all walked in they were greeted with the sound of someone singing – actually, Iris thought that the right word was ‘murdering’ – Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer. She spotted Linda, Bette and Eddie at the far end of the bar and went over to them while Felicity and Wally went to get the drinks.

“Please,” Bette begged, “one of you tell me you’re going to get up there. He’s been killing us all night with this. I think my ears are bleeding.”

Cisco cracked his knuckles. “If you’ll all excuse me, I have been summoned to the stage.” He strode off towards the piano.

“We’ve been trying to get Eddie to go up there, but he’s shy,” Linda continued.

“Because I haven’t sung in years.”

“You sing everyday in the shower, hot stuff,” Bette pointed out.

“Besides, we went to singing lessons with you,” Iris added. “You know that everything Mrs O’Reilly teachers you about singing will be with you until you die.”

“Well, I’m already going up there,” Barry sighed. “You can’t be any worse than me, Eddie.” He paused. “Wait, if I go up there, do I get to know the Hoboken story?”

Iris just laughed at him. “Nice try, Bar. But you made a promise; you need to stick to it.”

“Come on! I’m sure everyone wants to know the Hoboken story.”

“Well, we already know it,” Caitlin and Bette said together.

“Me too,” Ronnie added.

“ _What_?” Barry demanded. “How does Ronnie get to know?”

“Because of Hoboken rules,” Linda shrugged, as if that explained everything.

“What are Hoboken rules?”

Felicity, coming back with a tray of drinks, was the one who answered, “Calling Hoboken rules means that anything that transpires on that subject or conversation stays within that the members of that gender. The only exception is a spouse or fiancé.”

“So Ronnie knows because he asked Caitlin to marry him? And Eddie-”

“Eddie grew up with two of these women and has absolutely no desire to know anything more about the Hoboken story than he already does,” Eddie answered swiftly. Then a series of piano riffs and trills interrupted them and someone tapped a microphone.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” Cisco said smoothly as he played a slow melody. “I’ll be your maestro for this evening, which I have dubbed ‘Tricked-Out Triplets’. That’s right, one song, triple the talent. Can I get an amen?”

“God, he’s a nerd,” Ronnie chuckled. Then he cupped his hands around his mouth. “Alright, music master!”

“Thank you, I appreciate it. And now, slaying us with his soul, caressing us with his crooning, and wowing us with that…wow…factor, ahem, Mr Barry Allen! Pick your two accompanying singers and let’s get this show on the road!”

Barry looked at Eddie as everyone started cheering, who downed his drink and shrugged. “Why not, right?”, and Bette kissed him on the cheek.

“What about the third person?” Linda asked, looking around the group. Then Farooq, who was sat with Wally and Kendra on a different table, started chanting “ _Wall-y, Wall-y, Wall-y_.” Everyone started to join in and he looked around at all of them.

“You guys…” he stared, but the chanting just got louder. Iris noticed that he glanced at Linda sitting next to her, who was chanting just as loud as everyone else, before putting his hands up in surrender. “Okay, sure.”

Suddenly Iris felt Barry’s breath on her ear and she gasped lightly. “I hope you’ve got your voice ready, West, because they're right - I’m pretty good.”

“Why don’t you get up there and show me?” she shot back, one eyebrow quirked.

“My pleasure.”

They said something to Cisco, who told them what they were singing and where to stand. Barry got in the middle and smiled kind of nervously out at everyone, before nodding to Cisco. The lights dimmed and Barry took a deep breath.

_You knock me offa my feet now, baby!_

Iris’ mouth dropped open, as did Linda’s. She was sure everyone’s did, actually. Barry could _sing_. She looked at Caitlin, who shrugged. “There’s a reason we actually let him keep singing when we’re working.”

Iris couldn’t take her eyes off him as he ploughed through the first verse and chorus of _The Way You Make Me Feel_ , and even when Eddie took over for the next part and Wally accompanied his part with dance moves, she couldn’t take take her eyes off him for more than a few seconds. And she could swear he was looking at her, too. Her eyes not leaving the stage, Iris leaned forward to talk to Linda. “You know what we have to do, right?”

“Please, I’ve known since your boy opened his mouth. I already got Felicity, we’re good to go.”

Iris looked at her, her heart beating strangely fast. “He’s not _my_ boy. He’s…Barry.” Linda scoffed.

“Sure, Iris.”

Right then, Barry sang the line _My lonely days are gone_ and locked eyes with her, and she swore she felt a jolt of electricity shoot through her. The song came to an end, Barry, Wally and Eddie ending on a near-perfect harmony, and they were cheered off the stage.

“Good enough?” Barry asked, a trace of self-satisfaction in his voice. Iris lifted her shoulder in a shrug.

“Passable. But you haven’t seen anything yet, Barry Allen.”

She looked expectantly at the other two, who were ready even though Felicity looked even more nervous than she usually would. “This should be fun, we haven’t done this since – Oh my God. Oh my God, Oliver just walked in, I can’t do this.”

Iris looked over to where Oliver, Diggle and Laurel had just walked in and spotted them. “So?” she asked.

“So Oliver is my boss and he’s _Oliver_.”

“Like he’s never heard you sing before.”

“ _I don’t sing around Oliver_!”

“Here,” Linda gave her a shot glass of something. “Drink this.”

Felicity knocked it back without complaint and then grimaced. “What was that?”

“Tequila. Ready?”

“Oh, God,” Felicity said, still looking at Oliver as Iris grabbed her hand. She led them up the stage to Cisco, who was winking at Kendra from across the room. “You guys know what you’re singing?”

The girls shared a look. “Oh, definitely.” When they told him, Cisco grinned. “A classic.”

They got into position with Iris in the middle, though they knew this song well enough that they had a routine down to a science. As soon as Cisco played the first notes, Iris was ready.

_Uh oh, uh oh, uh oh, oh no no_

Iris was very gratified to see that Barry’s eyes were all over her during the whole _Crazy in Love_ as well, even cheering along with Ronnie and Wally – though she knew that Wally was cheering for Linda rather than her. She’d forgotten how much she loved doing silly things like this, with these people, and she was sure by the end of it she wasn’t really paying attention to what her voice was doing and more dancing around and having fun. So she was pretty surprised that there was even any applause to be had by the end of it. And even more surprised that some of the loudest of it came from Barry.

“Good enough?” she asked as she sat back down. Barry sniffed.

“Passable.”

And they smiled their secret smile for a second before Linda announced that she was hungry and was getting chicken wings.

Linda thought that the winner of the night was Bette, because Eddie’s singing and dancing had proved that ‘Detective Pretty Boy is literally the most perfect human to have ever happened’, and Iris thought that Felicity was the winner because after she’d sat down and Laurel had told her how great she was, Iris noticed that Oliver was looking at her different. The clear winner they’d all begun to notice, however, was Cisco.

 _We did make him look very good_. Iris was texting Barry from her bed a few hours later, though she really should have been sleeping.

We made him look fucking awesome

_Did you see where they went?_

Last I saw he and Kendra were making out in an alleyway

_Go Cisco_

A pause.

So

_So?_

You’re pretty good at singing. And dancing

_You too, Allen_

Singing to anyone in particular?

That question, for some reason, made all the blood rush to her face. But she couldn’t. _Friends._ They were _friends_. She didn’t want anything messier than that. She wasn’t strong enough, not yet.

 _Nope, not really. You_?

Me neither

Both of them, unbeknownst to the other, were lying, of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed that! I like writing WA as friends, even if they're totally flirty. I appreciate your comments - it feels like people are enjoying reading this as much as I enjoy writing it. Thanks for reading, liking and commenting. :)


	12. My Heart Is Beating (Like a Jungle Drum)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Barry has a hard time concentrating and Iris learns of a tragedy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO SORRY for how long this update has taken, life has been kicking me in the ass. One of the reasons it took so long is because the next chapter is quite complicated and I've only just figured out where to put the break between chapters. Hope you like it.

“And call us if you need anything.”

“I will.”

“And make sure you eat those casseroles I put in your freezer.”

“Okay.”

“And get some sleep. Are they working you too hard at the precinct? Do you want me to say something? Because I can call them-”

“Joan,” Jay interrupted, “I’m sure Barry doesn’t need you to go down to the police station and tell his bosses what to do.”

“Leave me alone!” she complained, before turning back to Barry and smoothing down his hair for the fourth time that day. “I’ve never had a little brother before, this is me catching up.”

But Barry just laughed. “It’s okay, Jay. If this is Joan being my big sister, I’m grateful it’s when I’m twenty-five. I don’t really think I’d appreciate her dressing me up in her clothes and putting my hair in pigtails.” Joan gasped.

“You would have looked _adorable_ in pigtails! With those pretty eyes of yours.”

“Prettier than mine?” Jay pouted. Joan rolled her eyes.

“Nobody is prettier than you, my dearest husband.”

Barry grinned at them from across the table, savouring the time he had with them before they got their flight back to Keystone. He had accompanied them to the airport on the outskirts of town to see them off, and he was trying not to let it show just how much he was going to miss them.

“So, how did you guys like my city?”

“It’s beautiful,” Jay admitted. “There’s something about it that reminds me of home – like it could be Keystone on another world.”

“You’re just saying that so Barry will move back to Keystone with you and help you with the heavy water experiments that everyone’s so excited about.”

“Boy, you’re grumpy without the internet.”

“And sorry, Jay, but she’s right,” Barry told him. “My whole life is here, I can’t just pack up and leave.”

They smiled sympathetically at him but Barry didn’t mind. Jay and Joan had been with him throughout his college years, and always called to check on him and send him presents on his birthday and Christmas.

Even as he had sworn he would never contact Tim and Carol again after he left, unless he absolutely had to, it hadn’t been easy for him. To keep his scholarship, he had to maintain a certain grade point average but he was also on a work-study programme so he had enough money to live on and also send back to his father, as well as save up to visit (Keystone was closer to Central City than National City had been, but it was still pretty expensive). His sophomore year had been quite a jump form freshman year, mostly because he’d been one of those people who declared a (double) major early and he wanted to get ahead on work. He worked slavishly all semester, both in the lab and in the university bookstore, and was greatly looking forward to going to see his father for Thanksgiving.

That is, until he was mugged on the way home.

It was the last day of work before he could book his flight to go back to Central City, and he’d decided to pick up a pizza on the way home. Maybe he was tired or maybe he wasn’t concentrating, but he didn’t notice the three guys lurking across the street until they had surrounded him. He hadn’t been carrying _all_ the money he’d need for his plane ticket, but it was Christmas and flights were expensive. So even though he’d begged and pleaded with the travel agent on the phone – from the hard plastic chair in the police precinct after he’d reported the crime and someone had gotten him a handkerchief for his bleeding nose – there was no way he’d be able to get back to his father for Thanksgiving.

He tried his best to curb the frustrated tears that tracked down his cheeks as he walked back to campus at midnight but he couldn’t, so that was how Jay found him as he was walking out of the lab on the way to his car.

“Barry?” he called. “Barry, what – Oh my God, what happened to you?”

“Professor Donald,” Barry said quickly, wiping his bloody nose. “Nothing, I’m fine-”

“You are not fine.” Jay was one of the few people he’d ever met who were actually taller than him, so Barry couldn’t exactly flinch away when Jay moved his hand from his face. “Is that broken? What happened?”

“I got mugged,” he said quietly. “But I’m fine, really. I was gonna go to the nurse tomorrow.”

Jay stared at him. “You’re bleeding from the nose and you can barely walk, and you’re trying to tell me you’re fine.” He shook his head. “Come with me.”

“What?”

“My wife was in the Peace Corps; I trust her more than I trust anyone else. Besides, you look like you could use something to eat.”

“Sir, you don’t-”

“Keep in mind, Mr Allen, that I still have the power to fail you this semester.”

Joan Williams – because as she explained, she’d made a name for herself in her business as it was, and it was bad enough that her husband’s legal name was Jason Garrick-Donald and it was such a mouthful that he’d gotten rid of her hyphenation so it was just ‘Donald’ – had only been freaked out for about two minutes when her husband showed up. Barry wasn’t surprised, because being woken up in the middle of the night to tend to a stull slightly tearful sophomore who was bruised and bleeding had to be somewhat of a shock. But her Peace Corps training must have been something else, because she had Barry all cleaned up and bandaged while Jay set a mug of hot cocoa in front of him.

“Thank you,” he said quietly.

“Of course,” Joan replied softly. She wrapped her cardigan more tightly around herself. “Do you…Do you want to talk about what happened? Jay said you were mugged.”

Barry shrugged and sniffled. “Not much to talk about, really. They jumped me and took my wallet – I can replace the cards and my ID, but I was going to use that cash to visit my dad, and-” He paused and swallowed. “And now I don’t have enough, and I don’t think I’ll have enough until Christmas.”

“Couldn’t your dad send you some?” she suggested hopefully. “Or maybe he could come see you?”

Barry shook his head, not looking up from the brown liquid in front of him. His throat was getting tight again. “My dad’s in prison. And he’s – He’s the only one I have, and I’m the only one he has, and I’ve been working so hard all semester, but if I can’t go see him then-” He cut himself off abruptly and stood, avoiding their eyes. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be worrying you with this – I should go-”

“Barry,” Jay said, grabbing his arm. “I’m sure your father will understand. These things happen.”

“ _He shouldn’t have to understand_!” Barry shouted. “I should have been better, or worked longer hours, or – Oh, God, Professor, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to yell, sir, I-”

“That’s alright, Barry,” Jay said, waving a hand. He shared a look with his wife. “Look, I know this won’t fix anything, but why don’t you spend Thanksgiving with us?”

“Besides, you can always go at Christmas,” Joan added. “And I’m sure he’ll understand.”

“I couldn’t impose-”

“You’re not imposing,” Jay shrugged. “Besides, if we have a guest, we don’t have to spend time with Jay’s cousin Chuck.” His wife looked at him.

“Don’t talk that way about my cousin.”

“He talks to birds, Joan.”

“He likes nature!”

“The birds are imaginary.”

Barry burst out laughing before he could stop himself. “I would love to come for Thanksgiving. That is, if you really don’t mind.”

“Of course we don’t mind,” Joan replied firmly. “Now, are you hungry? I have some chicken pot pie in the fridge…”

Joan’s habit of giving him food all the time never really stopped even after he left college, and Barry became grateful to at least have someone who looked at him like family in his corner. They’d met his father at his college graduation (and Joan had made some rather pointed remarks to Tim and Carol that made Jay and Barry snort with laughter), and even surprised him when he graduated from the police academy so he could begin his work as a CSI. Barry was glad that they could see his life here.

“Besides, there is a chance that I could be back next year,” Jay continued, sipping his coffee. “Central City University is really interested in some research that I’ve got planned if the heavy water stuff doesn’t pan out. And I’d really like to work with Wally if I did some back – kid’s a genius.”

“What is it he calls you?” Joan asked. “’CSI the Dork’?”

“He told you that?” Barry groaned. “Iris keeps trying to get him to stop, but Wally’s hardly the type to listen to his big sister telling him what to do.”

Jay nodded and checked his watch – their check-in time was eight thirty, which was in about twenty minutes – but Joan sipped her coffee and looked at him over the rim of her cup. “So. Iris is nice.”

“Iris is amazing,” he said automatically. “She’s like, the youngest person ever to win a Pulitzer after Lois Lane. Did you know she wrote that expose on the Dollmaker?”

“I did, actually. Have you read that article?”

“Yeah, it’s awesome! I don’t know how she did all that stuff! She figured out his MO, she realised where he was keeping his victims, I’ve never…What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Joan had her hands clasped together under her chin and Jay sighed. “Joan seems to think-”

“We want you to marry her,” she gushed. Barry blinked.

“I – What?”

“Okay, I’m kidding. But you’re both so cute together, Barry! When are you going to ask her out?”

“I’m not going to ask her out,” he said in exasperation. “Iris is my friend. We’re friends.”

Joan looked sceptical. “Are you sure?”

“Joan, I don’t think you should be meddling in Barry’s love life,” he told her. “Especially considering it was your idea that he date Becky Cooper.”

“That’s not – Listen, she _sounded_ lovely when you described her on the phone. And I’m usually right about these things.”

“You were right about Jessica,” Barry conceded. Joan pursed her lips.

“I was right about Jessica,” she agreed and said nothing else, because they all knew that Joan had nothing nice to say about the girl who had called a psychiatrist on Barry for telling her the truth about his father. That was when Barry had decided to stop throwing out the ‘I love yous’, but Joan wasn’t aware of that. She looked at him. “Does Iris know…”

“No, she doesn’t,” Barry replied. “Only Felicity, Diggle, Oliver, my captain at the precinct, and you guys know. It’s not exactly something I spread around.”

Joan reached forward and squeezed his shoulder. “How is he?”

“He’s great, all things considered. He said to say hey to you guys.”

Right then Jay’s watched beeped and they all stood up. Joan pulled him down for a hug. “I mean it Barry,” she said. “If you need anything, call us, okay?”

“I will,” he promised. “Thanks, Joan.”

She kissed him on the cheek and stepped back, and then Jay hugged him too. “I’m really proud of you, Barry. You keep your head up, alright? And, um…Well, you and Iris really do make a cute couple.”

Barry chuckled and shoved him away. “Whatever. Have a good flight.”

He waved at them until they disappeared behind the check-in counters, and he carried the feeling of their love with him all the way home.

***

Iris

Iris wake up

Iris oh my God

Iris BITCH CAN SEE

Sorry

I don’t usually use language like that

Are you mad?

Please don’t be mad

I didn’t mean it

Iris?

_I LOVE THAT PART YAAAAY_

_Haha of course I’m not mad Barry_

_I got you addicted to Pretty Little Liars, I’m awesome_

Iris what does this mean

_Keep watching_

Who is A?

_Everybody’s A, Barry. Even YOU_

I’m gonna be so useless tomorrow

_That’s okay, we’re just doing proofreading._

Iris

_Yeah?_

Why does everyone call you ladybird?

Barry didn’t know why the question came out right then. It was just something he wondered and his brain told him to ask. Her father, brother, Linda, Eddie and Felicity all called her that, and sometimes he found himself wanting to call her that too. But it felt strangely intimate and, despite the sex, he was sure they weren’t there yet. Instead of texting him though, she called him.

“That came out of nowhere,” she laughed quietly.

“Sorry,” he said, rubbing his face. He stretched out on his couch, the phone pressed to his ear. “I was just curious, I guess.”

“Guess I can’t judge you for that. It was – It was my mom.”

And now Barry felt terrible, because he recognised that soft tone, the quiet grief pulsing behind her words. “Iris, I’m sorry-”

“No, it’s cool. I actually like this story. One day, before she was…Before she got sick, my mom got me flowers for Valentine’s Day, and they were irises, and there was this little red ladybird sitting on one of the petals. My mom was like ‘they’re like you, they’re irises’, but all I could see was the ladybird. So for the rest of the year, I kept calling myself ladybird, and I guess it stuck. I think it ended up being Wally’s first word.”

Barry smiled. “That’s a nice story.”

“I never tell anyone.”

“Are you okay?”

She sighed. “Usually.”

Barry knew what that meant. They didn’t say anything for a while, and Barry just listened to the sound of Iris typing (because of course she was working – did she ever stop?), smiling contentedly to himself. “What are you working on?”

“It’s a secret.”

“You’re a journalist, you can’t keep secrets.”

“I’m a superhero, actually, don’t you remember my superpowers? Maybe I have a secret identity and I’m keeping it from you.”

“Right, your superpowers. Magic hugs.”

“Don’t laugh at me. I give the best hugs.”

“You do,” he agreed. “But aren’t you worried that I’ll give away your weakness? Every superhero has one.”

Then it was Iris’ turn to laugh. “You don’t know my weakness.”

“Sure I do. It’s chocolate fudge brownies from that place down on Abbey Street. One of those and you’ll do whatever I want.”

“Somebody’s confident,” Iris laughed. “And what about you, Barry Allen? Any weaknesses?”

“Of course.”

“What?”

“Pretty Little Liars.”

Iris burst out laughing. “I think we all secretly share that weakness, Bar.”

They talked for a little longer and then they hung up, promising to see each other the next day. Barry hadn’t been joking about Iris’ brownie obsession – even Captain Singh, who’d watched her as she grew up and went off to college, knew that they were her favourite. He was lying about his weakness, though.

Barry was pretty sure that Iris’ laugh, like sunshine through clouds, was his weakness.

***

“I love this scene.”

“Seminal entertainment.”

“They deserved an Oscar for this part. They were robbed.”

Barry, Cisco and Ronnie paused and then said together, “ _Asanta sana squash banana_!”

Perhaps they shouldn’t have been using the cortex of STAR Labs to watch Disney movies on the big screen, but the boys were so bored of their work that they’d taken advantage of the fact that Caitlin was out with Felicity and Linda to be lazy. They had spent that Saturday morning ordering junk food while they worked until the ‘work’ part stopped.

“So, what are you guys doing tonight?” Cisco asked. Ronnie looked at him.

“Cisco, you know what we’re doing. We’re going to be _here_ , trying to get this thing off the ground.”

“Yeah, but you forgot the most important part.”

“What’s that?”

“No more Hartley.”

Barry shook his head. “I still can’t believe Dr Wells let him go. He used to talk about him like he was the best thing since sliced bread.”

Barry had come in earlier in the week to Cisco, Ronnie and Dr Wells working in the Cortex as he tried to ask some questions for his latest class. Dr Wells seemed pretty normal, but Ronnie and Cisco were uncharacteristically quiet, exchanging looks and whispers over their worktables. Then, when Dr Wells finally left for a meeting, they’d dropped their work and dragged him over to tell him that, according to Vera who heard it from Sam the medical technician who’s friends with Luke the cleaner who heard it from one of the security guards, Hartley threatened Dr Wells with something and was dismissed.

“But I don’t get it,” Barry said, grabbing some popcorn. “What would Hartley have on Dr Wells? And why would he want to threaten him?”

Cisco shrugged. “I mean, I totally thought we’d walk in and see that Hartley’s taken over Dr Well’s brain or something, he was so stuck up his ass.”

“Can’t say I miss him, though.” Ronnie added. “Hey, you guys watching the Diamonds game tonight?”

“Do you always have to rub your masculinity in our faces?” Cisco demanded. “’Hi, I’m Ronnie, I watch baseball and basketball and football and go to the gym four times a week’.”

“Five times,” he corrected.

“Whatever. Anyway, baseball is boring.”

“Barry?”

“Please, I barely even understand baseball. Besides, Iris and I are hanging out to work on the article.”

Ronnie and Cisco shared a look. “What?” Barry asked.

“You love her,” Cisco grinned.

“Guys, come on. We’re friends.”

“Not true, at least not from your side. ‘Iris is so awesome, Iris is so interesting, hey, did you guys know that Iris is secretly Wonder Woman, Beyoncé and an angel combined?’”

Barry frowned, his face getting hot. “That’s not…I don’t talk about her that much.”

“Dude, yes you do,” Ronnie said. “You were totally singing to her on Monday night, weren’t you?”

“No,” he said, but even to his own ears it sounded unconvincing.

Cisco laughed. “I knew it! You spent that whole damn song giving her bedroom eyes. You need to stop playing and tell her you want to jump her bones.”

“No, don’t tell her you want to jump her bones,” Ronnie disagreed. “But you should ask her out. Then when you jump her bones its justified and you _don’t_ sound like a complete creeper.”

“You guys, I don’t want to jump Iris’ bones!”

“Sure you do. Unless…” Cisco peered at him and then gasped. “Is Iris your good night’s sleep?”

“My – what?”

“That Saturday a few weeks ago when you came in grinning like an idiot because you had a ‘good night’s sleep’. That was Iris, wasn’t it? You two already did it.”

“…no.”

Ronnie grinned as Cisco laughed and whooped. “This just got ten times better.”

“I’ll say. How is it that this dweeb who can barely walk in a straight line for five seconds without bumping into something gets a fuck buddy as hot as Iris?”

“She’s not a fuck buddy,” Barry said forcefully. He’d hate for them to think of her like that – she was too important to him, like…like an anchor. “It happened once, we decided we’d be friends. And you can’t tell anyone about it.”

Cisco raised his eyebrows. “Are you calling Hoboken rules?”

“I guess. Man, I still can’t believe we can’t know the story and Ronnie can.”

Ronnie shrugged. “Why don’t you propose to Iris? Then she’d tell you for sure.”

“Ha ha, very funny.”

“I’ll tell you this much,” Ronnie added. “I’m sure not underestimating those three ever again. _Especially_ Iris. You’ve got your work cut out for you, man.”

Barry swallowed.

***

He was still thinking about Iris that evening, when he was at his lab. He had been called back in to do some reports because apparently they had discovered a secret bunker underneath the Sun Dial Church and the case was getting more complicated, and he’d messaged her to meet him there instead of at CCPN. And he was embarrassed to admit that he’d spent about fifteen minutes in front of the mirror trying to do something interesting with his hair before thinking that was stupid and walking out, then coming back and putting some gel in it, and then changing his shirt and putting on some cologne for good measure. Now he was sitting here feeling like an idiot for having butterflies in his stomach because Iris was due to arrive any minute to talk about physics, and he’d prepared for it like it was a date.

Okay. Okay, maybe he had a little, _little_ crush on Iris. That was normal, right? Most people had a crush on their friends at some point. He’d had a crush on Felicity, for sure. Alright, he hadn’t had a crush on Caitlin or Bette, but they were already taken. Iris wasn’t. She’d had a boyfriend but she didn’t seem to miss him very much, so Barry didn’t think she was still thinking about him. And maybe it was embarrassing to think about her like that, but she _was_ amazing. He’d managed to get a physical copy of Iris’ article from Joe earlier in the week – who had given him a knowing look if he’d asked where he could get one – and now he was reading before she got here. Again. For the third time. There was a tiny part of him that kind of wanted her autograph.

Iris’ article was _brilliant_. It wasn’t just an article about the Dollmaker, it was about the psyche of stalkers and serial killers and why they picked their victims, and why society was so slow to recognise the signs of stalking. She had changed all the names and places – to protect the victims, she said – but there was still that raw and fiery passion that he recognised whenever she was talking underneath her words. She had started off with the stalking at a university that Barry had given up guessing the second time he read it (it was too generic), before talking about the Dollmaker and how he was made, and then talking about how society enabled violence against women. No wonder it had won a Pulitzer.

Anyway. Iris was his friend. He was just going to have to get his crush on her under control. No matter how sexy she happened to look when she showed up. Which, he was starting to notice, was all the time.

“Barry?”

Eddie walked in, breaking him out of his thoughts. “Hey, Eddie, I’ll have the tox screens ready in a minute-”

“Thanks, but that’s not it. I wanted to ask you something about Iris.”

“I-Iris?” he stammered. “Why would you want to ask me about Iris?”

“You know how Felicity got Oliver Queen to give us one of his restaurants for our engagement dinner next week? Well, I have to send in a menu for all of the guests by this evening and Iris hasn’t responded to my messages. You think you could help me guess what she wants?”

“Eddie, I don’t know if I’d be very helpful…”

“What, all the time you guys spend together, you’ve never eaten out?”

“What?” Barry squeaked. The thought of him and Iris doing that, with his mouth on her – and her legs around his – _God_. ” No, no we don’t do that, what makes you think we do that?”

Eddie gave him a sceptical look. “You’ve never had takeout before?”

 _Oh_. Not…Oh. “Oh, s-sure. Sorry, I must have misheard. Uh, let me look at the menu.” Barry took it. “Well, she doesn’t eat garlic bread, so give her the gnocchi for the starter. Your best bet for the main would be the picante chicken with spinach, and your only choice for dessert is the homemade chocolate brownie with ice cream since she hates cinnamon and is allergic to raspberries.”

Eddie blinked at him in surprise. “Thanks, Barry. I was just looking for suggestions, I had no idea you’d be so…thorough.”

“Uh,” he said quickly, “well, like you said, we spend a lot of time together because of the article, we’re friends, you start to figure out what she…likes.” God, and now he was thinking of the noise she made when he traced his mouth up her neck at CCPN, the one that was halfway between a gasp and a moan. “To eat,” he added. “What she likes to eat.”

“Cool,” he replied, walking back towards the door. “That’s really helpful, Barry, thank you. See you on – oh, hey ladybird.”

“Hey, pretty boy,” Iris laughed as she strode in, and Barry swallowed. Really, did she have to have such nice legs? And a nice ass? And pick _today_ to wear a jet-black leather mini-skirt?

“What are you doing in Barry’s lab?” she continued, giving him a small wave. Eddie showed her the menu. “Asking him what you want for this dinner, since you’re terrible at answering your phone.”

“Ugh, blame Verizon. I think they hate me. So, what’s with this menu?”

“I think Barry picked them all, but if you want to change anything…”

“Nope, this all looks perfect.” Iris looked at Barry and grinned. “Apparently he knows what I like.”

“To eat,” he said quickly. “What she likes to eat.”

“Great, and now Bette won’t yell at me. Later, Barry. Bye, honey.” Eddie kissed Iris lightly on the cheek and walked back out, while she came to sit at the space he’d cleared for her on the spare desk.

“Hey, Barry,” she smiled at him. “Ready to work?”

“Always.”

“Cool.” And then Iris turned around and he started staring at her ass and he went to get a cold beer in the fridge, because he couldn’t spend the whole evening staring at Iris’ ass, because friends didn’t do that. And he tried not to. But it was like as soon as Cisco and Ronnie had planted the idea of jumping her bones in his head, all he could think about was Iris. Specifically, grabbing her and kissing her, or pushing her up against a wall and kissing her, or lifting her onto a table and pushing up her skirt and-

“Barry,” Iris said, frowning, and he started. He looked at her.

“Uh, what?”

“Are you okay? I called your name, like, four times.”

He shook his head slightly. “Sorry, I guess I’m distracted. What did you need help with?”

“I just need you to check this last part on long-term plans and we’re done for this part.”

She slid the laptop over to his side of the desk, before yawning and laying her head on the table. He smiled as he skimmed the last few paragraphs of Iris’ article. “Long day?”

“Long _week_. You know what happens when the Arrow shows up in your city and shoots at people? Your boss wants you to write about it. But you can’t, so you have to give it to the baby interns, who are the world’s sweetest worker bees but half of them still write like they’re trying to pass AP English.”

“That’s a bad thing?”

“It is when you’re a reporter. You’re trying to give them news, yeah, but you also want to tell a story. Give them a beginning, a middle, and end. Someone to root for, someone to hate. Give them a _story_. Give them…Hello?”

Barry looked up to see that this last part was directed into her phone. She put her hand over it briefly. “Sorry, it’s my great-aunt Esther and she’s just going to keep calling.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

Barry took the time to keep looking at Iris’ article about the Dollmaker after he’d finished the Particle Accelerator one. He’d known that Oliver and Diggle and Felicity were involved, but they’d always kept very quiet on that particular subject and he had no idea why.

“…yes, I heard the weather warnings. Yes, Aunt Esther, I take my umbrella everywhere…”

Barry chuckled. The article was amazing, but there was something sad about it. There was no mention of the girl who was stalked ever feeling better about her predicament, and of course all of the victims of the Dollmaker had died. He looked up at Iris, still talking on the phone. He wondered how she knew these people, what it must have taken for her to tell this story.

“…yes, Aunt Esther, I know it’s a big storm. I know we don’t have Batman or Superman or Supergirl here looking after us…”

Iris West might be the bravest person he ever met.

“Well, I’m sure she’s got bigger things to worry about than her hair when she’s saving the world, Aunt Esther. Okay, I will. I’ll tell everyone, Wally and Eddie and Linda, and…The guy from _STAR_ Labs, Aunt Esther, not Moon. Yeah, Barry.”

He blinked at her. “Me?” he mouthed.

“Yeah, I’ll tell him. Is he _eating_ properly? No, all my friends are not on diets. Aunt Esther, I’m not- Okay, I will. Okay. I love you too. Take care. Bye.”

“She sounds adorable,” he said, once Iris had hung up. She laughed shortly, rolling her eyes.

“She wants me to feed you red beans and rice.”

“I’m never going to say no to food, Iris.”

“No, I mean she wants me to physically feed you. Like, sit you down, spoon in your mouth, wipe your chin feed you. I swear, she still does it to Wally and me when she’s had too much bourbon. She heard you on the phone and thinks you sound skinny.”

Barry tried and failed not to think about Iris feeding him. Maybe she would sit in his lap and stroke his hair and – No. It was a bad idea, going down that hole. He cleared his throat.

“Well, that’s nothing new. She’s right, though they’re saying the storm could be here within the next few days. It already cleared National City and Gotham.”

“Guess I’ll just have to hole up with _Pretty Little Liars_ ,” Iris laughed. She nodded at the computer. “Is that done?”

Barry nodded. “Mm, perfect. You’re free to go.” Iris’ face fell.

“Oh, I was gonna hang out here and wait for Linda, but if you want me to go-”

“No,” he interrupted. “No, of course not. I just didn’t think you’d want to stay here and watch me do toxscreens for the precinct.”

“Well, Linda, lucky thing that she is, gets to go to the big baseball game tonight in a town car, so she’s dropping off our car and some stuff so I can take it home.”

Barry whistled. “Town car, huh? Good for her. Ever been invited anywhere in a town car?”

“A couple of times, when I worked for the Gotham Gazette. I met Bruce Wayne a couple of times, actually.”

“Really? What’s he like?”

“Funnier than you think,” she replied. “Anyway, I don’t know what you’re talking about, I would love nothing more than to hang out with my favourite nerd and watch him do…” She walked around to his side of the desk and looked at his computer screen, leaning on his shoulder. “What is it you’re doing, again?”

Barry swallowed, because Iris’ perfume was clouding his nose and he was standing incredibly close to him. “This is a toxicology report of the underground tunnels that run under the Sun Dial Church.”

She looked at him, her arm still balanced on his shoulder. “Tunnels? There are secret tunnels now? Jesus, I thought that case couldn’t get any weirder. Maybe we _do_ need Batman.”

Barry grinned up at her. “Who needs Batman when we’ve got Iris West, Giver of Hugs and Devourer of Brownies?”

“Shut up,” she laughed, looking at him, and Barry looked at her. He noticed that he was staring, and then kept right on doing it. Iris was staring at him, too. He could feel his heart beating so hard he was sure that Iris could hear it. She opened her mouth – her perfect, full, distractingly-kissable mouth – to say something when she was interrupted by someone striding into the room.

“This better not be a repeat of last year’s game, or I swear to…Oh.” Linda stopped when she saw how close Barry and Iris were to one another. And no doubt at the fact that they were just staring at each other without speaking. “Am I interrupting something?”

“No,” they said together. Linda raised an eyebrow and Barry cleared his throat.

“We were just finishing a part of the article, right?”

“Right,” Iris agreed. “And, you know, waiting for you. And you’re here now, so we can go.”

Linda looked between the two of them. Barry was looking at anything but Iris; he knew if he looked at her he’d start blushing like an idiot. Then she shrugged. “Okay, whatever you say. Listen, if I you call me and I don’t get up tomorrow, go into work without me.”

“You guys work on Sundays?” Barry asked.

“When you work for the First Horseman of the Apocalypse, you kind of have to make sure he doesn’t make the baby interns cry,” Linda explained. She handed some of her bags to Iris after she had packed up her laptop. Ready?”

“Uh-huh.” Iris turned back to look at him, and Barry could swear she was blushing. “Night, Barry.”

“Night, Iris.”

Linda rolled her eyes.

***

The first thing that Barry noticed was the quiet.

When you worked for the police, it was never quiet. Someone was always texting or calling you to ask where something or someone was. But that Sunday morning, Barry didn’t have that. Nobody had called his phone or sent him any messages.

He had groaned in frustration when he realised that he’d left his laptop at work the night before, but then, he thought, at least he could would get some fresh air while he got it. Maybe he would stop for some coffee, too.

The second thing he noticed was the sirens.

They were everywhere, as he left his house, roaring in all directions. Traffic was wall to wall and there were cop cars whizzing to the west of the city. Barry picked up the pace as he walked to towards Jitters, glancing at his phone for the millionth time. Fuck, no signal. And when he got to Jitters, he noticed that everyone was having the same problem, buzzing with the news over their coffees. Plus, all the television screens weren’t working, showing blank screens.

“…storm knocked out a telephone pole…”

“…TV stations shut down…”

“They’re saying it was a riot…”

Barry started. A riot? The precinct must be in chaos. He turned, cursing, he had to get to CCPD immediately. “Sorry,” he apologised as he walked into someone.

“Barry?” Iris was frowning up at him. “What are you doing here? Do you know what’s going on?”

“No, do you?”

“No idea. I tried calling my dad, but – Oh, wait I have signal…”

All over Jitters, phones beeped and buzzed as apparently the problem with the telephone pole was fixed. The TV came back on the in next moment, just as Iris got a phone call. She frowned. “Why is Linda’s mom calling me? …Hello?”

But that was when Barry looked up at the TV screen and his stomach dropped in horror.

“ _Reports are coming in thick and fast about the riot that broke out during the after-game celebrations after the Central City Diamonds beat the Star City Rockets last night_ ,” a woman – who Barry now recognised as one of Iris’ co-workers from CCPN - was saying. “ _Eyewitness reports are saying that several of the perpetrators actually came from the Diamonds team, randomly attacking bystanders with little to no provocation…While there have been no reported deaths in the time it has taken to gather this information, among the injured are a several members of the players’ families and three sports reporters from our very own Central City Picture News…_ ”

“Barry,” Iris said in a choked voice, and he knew that she was going to say even before he turned. Her eyes were glassy, her face frozen. The phone was still in her hand and her knuckles were straining from where she gripped it so hard. “It – It’s Linda. She’s in the hospital.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHAT HAPPENED TO LINDA?


	13. The Secret Origin of SmoakWest: Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Felicity reminds Iris of something important, and everyone looks after Linda.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This came faster than I thought it would, but hopefully this will get you through because the next one may take a while. There's some Arrow stuff, but if you don't watch I've tried my best to explain it. Also, this gets kind of dark again - sorry! Disclaimer: dialogue taken from the Arrow episode 'Broken Dolls' - all credit goes to the writers of that episode.

Iris West had a good gut.

It had served her well, over the years of chasing the impossible and chasing stories. And of chasing murderers. She’d always trusted her gut – she trusted it when she’d first seen that case with the Rag Doll, when she realised that there was something going on with Felicity that freshman year of college, and when she’d realised that she hadn’t been happy with Kyle in a long, long time. Her gut was never wrong.

Which was why now, running through a hospital ward with Barry behind her, she was kicking herself for not trusting it.

Iris should have gone in Linda’s room, was the thing. After saying goodbye to Linda outside of the precinct and then driving their shared car home, Iris went to bed early because she was planning on going in to work to check on the investigative journalist interns’ progress on their work, and work on some True North stuff for her blog. Since it was Sunday, there wouldn’t be a lot of people there, and she could work in peace. As promised, she’d knocked on Linda’s door and found no reply, which meant that she was exhausted and would likely wander out some time in the late afternoon, growling until someone got her a latte. Iris paused outside of her door, wondering if she should just check on her to make sure she was okay, but she’d been distracted by the fact that her phone and her internet weren’t working that she decided to just leave her to sleep and get to work as quickly as possible so she could check her emails. Then when she was leaving, she could pick up a latte for Linda and she could tell her all the gossip about the baseball players.

Her gut started giving her warning signs as soon as she left the house. Not only were the streets slammed with traffic, but there were sirens splitting the Sunday morning air, cop cars and ambulances racing towards the west side of town. Iris sped up as she walked towards Jitters. As soon as she got to work, she’d ask Mason what the fuck was going on. And then as soon as she got signal she would call her father and-

“Sorry.” Barry Allen stared at her in surprise.

“Barry?” she blinked up at him in confusion. “What are you doing here? Do you know what’s going on?”

Iris tried to ignore the little flutter in her stomach that tended to happen now whenever she was around Barry. She fully blamed it on Linda calling him ‘her boy’ and Felicity’s constant texts about how cute they would be, and Barry. _Especially_ Barry, with his pretty green eyes and long lashes and adorable smile. He shook his head.

“No, do you?”

“No idea. I tried calling my dad, but – Oh.” Iris broke off as her phone started buzzing. All over Jitter’s other people’s phones were buzzing as well; apparently the signal had come back. “Wait, I have signal…Why is Linda’s mom calling me?...Hello?”

“Iris?” Linda’s mother sounded tinny and weird, like she was calling from very far away. And…was she crying?

“Hi, Mrs Park-”

“I’ve been trying to call you for hours! How’s Linda? Are you with her?”

Iris frowned. “No, I’m on my way to work. Linda’s at home.”

“What? Iris, Linda is in the hospital,” Linda’s mother was sobbing now. “She was attacked at the riot, she-”

Iris’ blood ran cold. “W-What? She was what?”

“The hospital called me this morning, but I was at a conference in Gotham and I can’t get back because of the storm. Could you go stay with her until I get there? I don’t want her to be alone.”

“O-Okay,” she replied, and Linda’s mother hung up.

Iris should have trusted her gut.

She looked at Barry, who was staring at the screen along with everyone else. “Barry.”

He turned to her, his expression mirroring hers. “It – It’s Linda. She’s in the hospital.”

Barry blinked at her and she turned away towards the doors, fumbling for her car keys as her throat started to burn. She had to get to the hospital, she had to help Linda, _she had to_ …

“Iris! Iris, wait!” Barry caught her shoulder and spun her around to face him.

“I should have gone in to check on her,” she said, her voice shaking. “I always check to make sure she’s okay, if I’d done that I’d be there with her…”

This…This was far too much like Dawn.

“Iris, come on, this isn’t your fault-”

She pressed her hands to her temples. “What if she’s hurt really bad? What if she-”

“Iris, you can’t think like that right now, okay?” Barry put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes, his voice soothing. “All you have to do get to the hospital and be there with her. She’s already there, that means she’s safe, that means they’re already fixing it. Now, look, I’m coming with you. Hey, look at me,” he added, cupping her face in his hands. “Everything’s gonna be alright, okay?”

Iris nodded. “O-Okay.”

Traffic was so bad that they ended up just running to the hospital, making it there within a few minutes. It was packed, with doctors and surgeons and nurses moving frantically around the hospital as they tried to make sense of whatever had happened at the stadium the night before. Iris led them both to the reception’s desk. “Hi, um, Linda-” she swallowed the word, choking back a sob. “Linda Park? She was injured in the…in the riot. Is she in the emergency room?”

“And you are?”

“Iris West. I’m her roommate – her mother called me.”

“Name?”

“Vera Park-Vincent.”

The woman behind the desk nodded and tapped some keys. “Miss Park is not in the emergency room – she was admitted under the care of Dr Avery this morning. Room 52 in the Intensive Care Unit.”

Iris thanked the receptionist and grabbed Barry’s hand before racing off to find the room. “Iris,” Barry called as they searched the names on the doors. He pointed to one that said ‘Linda J. Park’. “In here.”

“Oh my God, _Linda_!”

Linda was pale and asleep in a hospital gown on a bed, but that wasn’t what made Iris gasp. Linda was wearing a neck brace, dark bruises flowering out from under the metal, and there was a bandage stained red on her temple. Iris felt tears spring to her eyes as she went to her friend’s side and stroked her hair and cheek. “What happened to you, Linny? What did they do to you?”

“I’ll go find Dr Avery,” Barry said quietly. He left the room before waiting for an answer and Iris looked around, her shaking hands going through the pile of Linda’s belongings on the chair off to the side. Iris’ phone was buzzing with calls from everyone, who had undoubtedly heard what had happened – Mason, her dad, Felicity, Wally… “Iris?”

She turned to see that Barry had come back with the doctor. “I’m told you’re friends with Miss Park?”

“Yes,” Iris nodded, her voice wobbling. She wiped her eyes. “I’m her roommate. What happened to her?”

“Miss Park was unfortunately involved with the riots at the Central City Diamonds Stadium. She came in suffering from strangulation injuries and a head wound, as well as bruised ribs.”

 _Strangulation…_   “Someone tried to strangle her? _Who_?”

But the doctor shook his head sympathetically. “I don’t have details, Miss West. I only know what I was told.”

“O-Of course. What is she doing in intensive care?”

“Miss Park is in a medically-induced coma,” he explained, and Iris’ hand flew to her mouth. “I know it sounds scary, but we are doing it to help her recover. Miss Park suffered a trauma to the head and her brain began to swell. We have her on anaesthesia to ensure that blood flow doesn’t cause it to push against the skull, which would be much more harmful. The next several hours are critical, but we are confident that she will recover within the next twelve hours.”

Iris nodded. “Oh. Okay. And the…neck brace?”

“She has bruising from the strangulation – it’s just to prevent her from hurting her neck if she turns her head in her sleep. Miss Park is under the best care we can offer, Miss West. We’re doing everything we can to help her.”

Iris nodded, swallowing. “Okay. Thank you, doctor.”

“Of course. Now, the interns are in a more serious condition…”

“The interns?” Iris repeated, right as her phone started ringing. She looked down at the screen to see that her father was calling her. “I…”

“Christopher O’Malley and Stephanie Taylor?” the doctor continued, consulting his clipboard. “I believe they were with Miss Park.”

“They were, just, hold on-”

Barry gently took her phone from her and motioned for her to go with the doctor. “I’ve got it,” he said quietly. “Hey, Joe? Yeah, I’m with her…”

Iris followed the doctor out to Steph’s room, who was hooked up to so many machines that she could barely see her. She also had a bandage wrapped around her head and a breathing tube in her nose.

“Oh, Steph,” Iris said softly, her throat burning again. Who had done this to them? To all of them? “Dr Avery?”

“Miss Taylor is suffering from a broken leg, a concussion, and a collapsed lung,” he informed her quietly, “as well as several scrapes on her body.”

“And Chris?”

“He was taken into surgery this morning.”

“Oh _God_ ,” she breathed, sitting down. That was when Dr Avery told him of the extent of their injuries, and Iris put her head in her hands. God. _God_. What in holy hell had happened at that stadium? Iris walked back into Linda’s room to see a nurse attending to Linda and Barry still on the phone.

“…You’ll be here in a minute? Okay. No, it’s cool, I’ll stay with her. Okay. No, they don’t need me at work. Okay. Bye, Felicity.”

The nurse walked out and Iris slumped in her chair. “Felicity’s coming?”

“Yeah, she heard from the news. And your dad said he’d be here too, but Captain Singh sent him over there to talk to the organisers to find out what happened. And-”

They both stopped as they heard a familiar, commanding voice getting louder in the corridor. “…Detective Eddie Thawne and I have someone to see…”

Iris frowned and walked into the corridor. “Eddie? Felicity?”

“Iris,” he sighed. He was there in a trench coat and suit – full Detective Thawne mode. Felicity was with him, her blue eyes worried. “Linda – is she – where-”

“In here.”

“Oh, Lin,” Felicity sighed, her face falling. Eddie rubbed his face tiredly and looked at Barry. “Hey, Barry. Captain Singh call you yet?”

Barry nodded. “Yeah, but they don’t need me. You have any idea why?”

“Because we know exactly what happened – the whole thing was caught on camera.”

Iris and Barry looked at Eddie. “Have you watched it? What happened?”

Eddie and Barry shared a look, and Iris sighed. “If you two are about to do that dark and broody cop thing where you try and hide the truth from me to protect my feelings, don’t. I’ve seen worse.” She looked at Eddie and locked her jaw. “You know I’ve seen worse.”

Felicity stepped closer to Iris. “Iris-”

“Tell me.”

Eddie sighed. “I don’t know exactly what was going on, but according to one of the people in the room, Linda was interviewing one of the players. You ever hear of Tommy Holland?”

Barry frowned. “Hotshot Holland? Even I’ve heard of him – he’s the team’s star player. What does he have to do anything.”

“He’s the one who attacked her.”

Iris stood up. “ _What_? Why would a sports star attack Linda?”

“Apparently she was doing an investigation into the Diamonds using steroids and she asked him about it.”

“Doping?” Barry asked. “They thought that the Hotshot Holland was doping?”

“They didn’t _think_ anything,” Eddie replied, shaking his head. “I talked to your boss, Iris, before I got here. They have some pretty solid evidence that this has been going on for months.”

Iris sighed, realising what was going on. “Her secret project. She would never tell me about it.”

“I think she was waiting to publish, but she needed proof of him and his managers denying it first. And that was – When, uh…” Eddie pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. Barry squeezed his shoulder comfortingly and when Eddie spoke again, his voice was a little less steady. “One question. She asked him one question and he just…lost it. Leapt across the table and tried to strangle her. Then that other kid, Chris, tried to stop him, but then he went after him too. Threw him across the room straight into that girl, the other intern-”

“Steph,” Iris answered. “She’s next door.” Eddie nodded.

“I know. I’m here to interview them, but I wanted to see Linda.”

“What are the police saying?” Barry asked. “They arrested the guy, right?”

“That…” Eddie sighed, a vein pulsing in his forehead. “You know what happens with these things. They got their lawyers in their pretty quick, and they’re saying he was exhausted from the stress of training and the game, and that Linda provoked him-”

“You…” she choked out. Iris’ vision had gone red. “You’re not serious. You can’t be fucking serious.”

“Come on, Iris, you lived in Gotham. You know how this works – rich sports star pays everyone to keep quiet, gets off with a warning and maybe a suspension. We’ll be lucky if the video doesn’t ‘disappear’.”

That was when Felicity took Iris’ arm and dragged her out of the room, leading her away from Linda. “Felicity-”

“Don’t do it.”

Iris locked her jaw. “I’m not doing anything.”

“Don’t you dare lie to me, Iris. I know you and I know that look on your face and I know what you’re thinking. You need to calm down.”

“Felicity,” Iris breathed, her voice shaking with tears that were finally starting to fall down her face. “You know what my morning’s been like? I just found out that Chris is in surgery for internal bleeding and shards of glass embedded in his skin. He’s eighteen years old and he’s a really sweet boy and his mother lives across the country, so he’s all alone. And Steph…She _should_ be in surgery, but her heart has been under a lot of strain and her lung has collapsed, so they’re not sure she can withstand the surgery and the anaesthesia until later. My _best friend_ is in a neck brace because some fucking psycho tried to kill her, and I don’t know what it’s going to be like when she wakes up. Her mother basically raised me, and I have to tell her that her daughter is in a medically-induced coma. _Don’t tell me to calm down_.”

Felicity grabbed her hands and made Iris look at her. “I know, Iris, _I know_. But we need to be here for Linda and Chris and Steph, and we need to let the doctors and Eddie do their job. _Let the police do their job_.”

Iris barked out a bitter laugh. “Right, let the police do their job. You mean like they did their job with Dawn?”

***

_One year previously…_

Iris West had a good gut.

Unfortunately, she was also a reporter from the Gotham Gazette, not a police officer, so no one at Starling City Police Department had been willing to talk to her when she went. She had done everything they asked – filed a report, answered all their questions, and kept a lookout for any suspicious activity. But it had been twenty-four hours, and Dawn was still missing. The officer on the desk dropped the report, sighing.

“Listen, Miss Wet-”

“West,” Iris corrected. “Iris _West_.”

“I apologise. Listen, Miss West, do you have reason to believe your friend is in a distressed mental state?”

“No.”

“And she is over the age of eighteen?”

“She’s twenty-four, like me, but-”

“And there was no violence involved in her disappearance?”

Iris sighed. “No, I told you, she left the day before yesterday to go to the drugstore and said she’d be back before lunch. It’s been two days, she’s not answering her phone, she’s not at her grandmother’s house…I’m telling you, something is wrong.”

The officer rubbed his face and typed something on his computer. “Okay…Dawnette Elizabeth Quinzel. Resident of Starling City, formerly of Gotham City, currently employed as a research assistant at Stagg Enterprises, western subsidiary. Oh…It says here she was previously detained for marijuana possession in college?”

Iris ground her teeth. “It was medical – she had a nerve condition. And the records are sealed.”

“And you’re sure she didn’t just run off on a bender?”

Iris resisted the urge to dig in her purse for her knuckle dusters and show this idiot just how sure she was. “No, she didn’t.”

“Alright, Miss West, we will keep a lookout for your friend. But I have to be honest, it doesn’t sound like she’s in any danger.”

Iris had walked out very proud of herself for the fact that the police officer didn’t have his skull bashed in. That had been a three days ago, Dawn was still missing, and her gut was screaming at her that her friend was in danger.

Specifically, that she had been taken by the Dollmaker.

It hadn’t started out that way, of course. When your friend went missing, the first thing you assumed wasn’t that she was kidnapped by a psychopathic serial killer who choked women to death with a polymer that hardened in their throats. Iris was here staying with Dawn for a journalism seminar that her mentor at the Gazette had recommended her for; Dawn had a spare room and was only too happy to accommodate her former college roommate. They hadn’t seen each other in months – life had gotten in the way – but they always kept in touch, and were excited for the chance to get to spend some time with each other again. Iris had been there for a month and a half before Dawn said that she was going out to get some skin cream one morning and invited Iris to go too, but she’d had work to catch up on. Instead, they agreed to meet for lunch later in the afternoon. But then she hadn’t shown. And she didn’t answer her phone. And her parents had no idea where she was. The police weren’t doing much about it, and that was when Iris started taking matters into her own hands.

She wrote down everything that Dawn had done and where she had been before she disappeared. She texted Felicity to help her ping her phone, but the signal had topped out at the drugstore, so that was her first stop. Iris walked up to the assistant, smiling her biggest ‘I’m a normal person who isn’t totally pumping you for information right now’ smile.

“Hi,” she said brightly. “I was wondering if you could help me?”

“Of course,” he replied. “What can I do for you?”

“Have you seen this girl?” she asked, showing her a picture of Dawn. The assistant guy peered at it. “She’s my friend, and she’s been missing for a couple of days. She came here last week, right?”

“Yeah, I remember her. She was talking to me about how she needed the Mermaiden cream because of her skin.”

“Yeah, it’s sensitive.”

“Right, that’s what she said.”

“Was she upset? Or…Or with anyone, or…”

He shrugged helplessly. “No, sorry. I hope you find her, though. Wait,” he said suddenly, remembering. “She didn’t come in with anyone, but she got into this conversation with this guy who was buying the same cream.”

Iris frowned. “There was a guy buying Mermaiden cream?”

“Uh-huh. She felt a little self-conscious because she’s so pale, but he didn’t agree. Told her she had beautiful skin.”

She tipped her head to one side. “That’s…a weird thing to say.”

“Yeah, I thought so too.”

“What did he look like?”

“The guy?” he paused, thinking. “Uh, pretty tall, really blonde hair, really big glasses, maybe thirties?”

“If I gave you my number, could you tell me if he comes in again? I really want to find my friend.”

Going back home, Iris felt a little deflated. It would be another two days before the police would start to take the report of Dawn being missing seriously, and all she had was the fact that she’d gone to the drugstore for skin cream. She fired up her computer and went to the Mermaiden Facebook page – maybe Dawn’s mysterious admirer had liked the page, like she had? But no one she saw fit that description, and she’d been scrolling through the page for months. She was just about to close down the screen and go down to yell at the police again when she noticed that she recognised three of the names in a row. She frowned, wracking her brains. Sandra Keen, Jenny Finn, Brenda Montgomery. She hadn’t gone to college with any of those women, but she knew them from _somewhere_ … Iris typed their names into google.

“Fuck,” she breathed.

The first thing that came up was a newspaper article from the previous year detailing the arrest of a notorious serial killer. Those women were three of the victims of Barton Mathis, also known as the Dollmaker. Mathis had been caught but then escaped during the Undertaking. Hands shaking, she typed his name into the google image search.

 _Pretty tall, really blonde hair, really bug glasses, maybe forties_?

She had found Dawn’s admirer.

***

This idea was stupid and reckless, and Iris was pretty certain it was going to get her killed. But she didn’t have much of a choice.

The police had been less than impressed with her leaping to the conclusion that Dawn had been kidnapped by the Dollmaker. Not only did they think her description could fit any generic white guy, but they thought that she was wasting police time with her theory. She heard them all grumbling in irritation about someone called Detective Lance as she walked out.

So Iris did it herself.

Despite the fact that she was now a journalist, she’d been a criminal psychology major once upon a time, and no one knew better than Linda that Iris had always been obsessed with murder mystery documentaries, so she knew a little something about serial killers. Dollmaker was a classic – he seemed to be obsessed with skin, stalking his victims on Facebook before meeting them in person and then kidnapping them. What was very clever, though, was where he left them. It became widely known that the Dollmaker left his victims for the police to find, and Iris noticed that they were left somewhere that related to the victim. Sandra Keen, a bookshop owner, was left outside an old publishing warehouse. Jenny Finn, who sold computers, was found outside the factory that packaged them.

That was where Iris got the idea to find Dawn.

Dawn was a chemical research assistant, specialising in perfumes and the like, so Iris did a quick search of all the old buildings that were condemned in the last year. When she found one that matched her suspicious – a chemical plant – Iris got her combat boots and her knuckle dusters and her Taser and set out. She’d lived in Gotham for almost five years and knew how to take care of herself, but she wasn’t an idiot. She had the police on speed dial, and they’d be the first to know if she thought she was in any danger. The building was on the outskirts of town and was indeed condemned, but as far as she knew there was nothing wrong with it – just an old building that was going to be knocked down for condos. Looking around to make sure no one could see her, Iris picked her way inside.

The place was dank and musty, and Iris fished out a torch to help her see, encased in the heavy metal of her knuckle dusters. It was wide and empty, and she could hear rats scurrying around and strange noises from what was probably the boiler. Still, not as bad as when she’d discovered some of the Scarecrow’s victims in Gotham. It took her a few minutes, but Iris finally saw something near the back of the room and picked her way towards it.

Only five years of work as True North could stop her from screaming.

Dawn was strapped to a pole, her body arranged in a gruesome sort of curtsy and holding a white handkerchief. Her mouth looked like it was filled with clay, and her eyes were open and glassy. Iris couldn’t breathe, her heart threatening to break out of her chest, and her brain felt fuzzy, like it was refusing to accept what was in front of her. “Dawn… _Dawnie_ …”

Professional. She was a goddamn professional and she needed to call the police. She fished out her phone, her hands shaking. She was, in fact, in so much shock that she didn’t notice the man until he was a few steps behind her. To her credit, she managed to clock him in the jaw before he pressed a rag over her mouth and everything went black.

“You have,” the Dollmaker hissed, “such lovely skin.”

***

Working for Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak had recently discovered, was a little more than fixing computers and getting rid of viruses. In the last year, she’d retrieved information from a laptop riddled with gunshot holes, almost been killed by copycat arrow assassins, and been witness to an earthquake machine that had levelled an entire city. She was still IT support, sure. But IT support for a green-clad superhero with a bow and arrow wasn’t what she had in mind when she’d sent in her résumé. She was used to it, though. Even if her latest foray into being a superhero was posing as bait for a serial killer obsessed with skin cream. Oliver Queen liked to present himself as a party-obsessed playboy who apparently had nothing better to do than spend his parents’ money. The Arrow, however, was what the real Oliver was like – a hero who would do whatever it took to protect his friends. And if there was one thing that she knew, it was that he never stopped until he got his man.

“I don’t know about Laurel, but Mathis kidnapped Lance from a parking lot,” she explained, pointing at the screens. “He shot a security guard on the way out, which sounded the alarm. He’s using a van from Metamorpho.”

“That building was condemned after the Quake,” Diggle said. “Perfect place to make some dolls.”

“Not tonight,” Oliver said grimly.

Being in the Foundry while Ollie and Dig went out the fight the bad guys wasn’t always as detached as she wanted it to be. She heard every punch, grunt, crack of broken bones. Still, most of the time she could pretend that it wasn’t affecting her – it made it easier to do her work. Today though, when it was Laurel and Detective Lance, it was much harder to be detached. But then Oliver said something that almost stopped her heart in its chest.

“There’s another girl back here!” he shouted into the comms. Felicity frowned.

“Another one?”

“Yeah, dark skin, medium build, black hair. She’s unconscious, but breathing.”

“You got an ID on her?” she asked, tapping at her computer. “I might be able to get a Missing Person’s list up.”

“Uh…Iris A West?”

“ _What_?” Felicity snapped. “Oliver, are you sure?”

“Pretty sure, Felicity. I’m going to take her to Star City East, see if-”

“No! You have to bring her here.”

“You know her?”

Felicity closed her eyes, thinking of that night of handcuffs and guns and broken sleep. “She’s my friend.”

“I can’t just bring your friends into the Foundry!”

“Oliver Jonas Queen,” she said slowly. Behind her, Diggle gulped. “I have done countless illegal things for you, jumped out of a plane for you, and gone undercover in a mob casino for you. I never ask you for anything, but I am asking you for this. _Please_.”

There were a few moments of silence, before Oliver sighed. “Fine. But get a first aid kit ready.”

Felicity was pacing by the time Oliver got back, Iris cradled in his arms. Felicity let out a sob as he placed her gently on the table and went straight to her. “Is she-”

“As far as I can see, he only issued her a sedative,” Oliver cut her off. “She should be awake in a few hours. Now, do you want to tell me why I have an unknown civilian in here, Felicity?”

By now, Felicity was used to Oliver’s irritation, and didn’t greatly care that he was mad at her. “You remember when I first started working for you?”

“Yes…”

“And you did that background check on me that you thought I’d never find out about?”

Oliver blinked at her and she grinned. “Yeah. And you couldn’t find anything from my college years, because it was all redacted?”

“…Right.”

“Let’s just say that college was my Lian Yu,” she explained. “And if it weren’t for Iris, I’d be in jail or dead. Or died in jail.”

“And you’re not going to tell us what happened?”

“Are you going to tell me everything that happened on Lian Yu?” At his silence, she nodded. “Right. That’s what I thought.”

***

Iris started awake to find herself in a brightly-lit room with computers and weaponry and…was that a bow and arrow? She started gasping for breath and someone laid a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, hey, Iris,” Felicity said soothingly. “It’s okay, babydoll, it’s me. You’re okay.”

“The D-Dollmaker,” Iris choked out. “He – where is he? What are you doing here, Felicity?”

“That’s…a really long story. But you’re safe, okay?”

“But what about Dollmaker?”

“He’s dead, Iris.”

Iris blinked at her, her head pounding. The last thing she remembered was seeing Dawn’s body, lifeless and prone above her, before what she was now realising was the Dollmaker snuck up behind her and knocked her out with something. Now she was here with Felicity, _alive_ , thank God, in what looked like… “Where am I, Felicity?”

“Well…” Felicity adjusted her glasses. “That’s that long story I was telling you about. But you need to meet a couple of people first.” She wheeled away to one of the computers and pressed a button. “Oliver? Dig? She’s awake.”

Iris got the shock of her life when Oliver Queen walked into the room, followed by a burly black man in a sharp suit. Her mouth dropped open. “You’re Oliver Queen.” She looked at Felicity. “That’s _Oliver Queen_.”

“I _am_ Oliver Queen,” he nodded. “Felicity works for me.”

“Doing what, exactly? Going after serial killers?”

There was a long silence as all three of them looked at each other, before Oliver sighed. “Felicity,” he said quietly.

“Y-Yes?”

“How much do you trust Iris?”

Felicity looked at her friend. “I trust her with my life.”

“I see.”

Iris frowned at them. “Um, Mr Queen-”

“Iris,” Oliver interrupted. “Felicity, and Diggle here-” he gestured to the man, who nodded, his arms folded “-technically, work for Queen Industries. But you might better know me as someone else.”

Iris laughed nervously. “This isn’t the part where you tell me you’re Batman, is it?”

“No. It’s the part where I tell you I’m the Arrow.”

She just stared at him, and then looked around at the weapons adorning the walls and the computers surrounding her. “Sure. Okay. Oliver Queen is the Arrow and he’s friends with Felicity and they saved me from the Dollmaker. That’s…Totally normal.”

“Iris, this isn’t something I tell everyone-”

“Of course,” she interjected. “Believe me, if there’s one thing I understand, it’s the importance of a secret identity.”

“Thank you,” Oliver said, smiling, and Iris immediately got why everyone was attracted to him. “Now, Dig and I took the liberty of going back to your apartment and collecting your things so you’d have them when you woke up. Now, if you don’t mind me asking, what were you doing there?”

“I was…I was looking for him.”

“You went _looking_ for a serial killer?” Felicity demanded. “Are you insane?”

“How did you find him?” Diggle asked. “You weren’t buying the cream, were you?”

“No, it’s…” Iris took a deep breath and tried to get the memory of Dawn’s body out of her head. “Mathis – Can I use your computers?”

Felicity helped Iris gingerly climb down from the examination table and let her use the computers. “Mathis is a serial killer with a very specific MO – the thing with the skin cream and preserving them for people to find. If I had to guess, his mother or a female close to him liked dolls, and he must have had a pretty abusive relationship with her. I figured out where he was going to be next and I tried to tell the police, but they didn’t listen. I figured if I could get some proof, I could call them and they’d stake the place out or something. I thought I’d find his set-up for his next crime.”

“But you found a body,” Oliver realised. “And he found you.”

Iris nodded numbly. “Ace Chemicals on the outskirts of town. It was due to be knocked down tomorrow, which is probably when the police would have found it. From what I could see, she had been there for maybe a day or so.”

“Do you know who it was?”

Iris nodded again and the tears started to fall; she shoved a hand over her mouth and looked at Felicity, the sobs shaking her body. Felicity’s eyes widened and she shook her head slowly. “No, not…Dawn?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Oh my _God_. Dawn…Dawn’s dead?”

Iris couldn’t reply because she was crying so much and Felicity pulled her into a hug. “Oliver,” she said quietly.

“We’ll give you a minute,” he said quickly, sharing a look with Diggle. He touched Felicity’s shoulder briefly before they walked out, and then Iris wrapped her arms around Felicity, her tears coming in gasps.

“She was alone,” Iris sobbed. “She died alone, Felicity, and I should have been with her. If I’d been with her, she wouldn’t have-”

“Shh, Iris,” Felicity said, even though she was crying too. “Come on, you know it’s not your fault…”

“And the police wouldn’t help, it was like you with the stalking – what am I going to tell her parents, Felicity? They’ve already had a hard time with Harley having to take leave from working at the Asylum, and-”

But Iris couldn’t say anymore, dissolving into more sobs. Felicity held her and stroked her hair the whole time. And she held her hand when they called the police, and when Iris had to identify the body, and when she had to give her statement to the police. Both of them told Linda together, and then Iris stayed with Felicity until she was ready to go home. It wasn’t until they were alone about a week later, with Iris saying goodbye to Felicity at the train station before she went to Central City, that she sighed and smiled ruefully.

“Are you still mad at me?”

Felicity laughed. “Oh, babydoll, I am _furious_ with you. The only reason I haven’t yelled at you while you’ve been here is because I know Joe’s going to kick your ass better than I ever could.”

Iris laughed for what felt like the first time in years and buttoned up her coat. By the ticket machines, Oliver and Diggle were talking. “The _Arrow_?” she whispered, for the millionth time since meeting them. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. How hot is the salmon ladder thing, though?”

“ _So_ hot. How often does he do that?”

“Every Wednesday. Perks of the job.”

Iris raised her eyebrows. “I’ll bet.”

Felicity blushed. “Shut up. So, what next? Heading back home?”

Iris shrugged. “The paper gave me some time off, which is understandable, but I don’t know. I feel like I want someone to _know_ about this, you know? Okay, it will be on the news that Mathis killed someone else. But what about the fact that the police didn’t care? Or how easy it is to dismiss a victim? Nobody’s going to know that.”

“So…Why don’t you tell them?”

“I don’t think True North has a niche in this area, pretty girl.”

“No, I mean Iris West. You can change the names and stuff, and I guess you can get permission from Dawn’s parents for the story. I’m sure they want people to know about it, too. And,” Felicity added uncertainly, “if you want, you could tell the story about the girl who was almost killed by her stalker.”

Iris gasped. “Felicity, I can’t-”

“I want you to,” she said simply. “I want people to know my story. I almost died because people thought I was a liar, Dawn died because the police thought she was a druggie on a bender, and that could have been prevented if they didn’t think _you_ were just a silly girl wasting police time. I know you can find a story in there, West.”

Iris gave her friend an appraising look. “Yeah, I think I can. Oh, that reminds me,” she added, pulling a file out of her bag. “This is for you guys. Apparently there’s someone calling himself ‘the Mayor’ about to cause some trouble in the Glades. I thought that might be up you guys’ alley.”

“Thanks,” she said, impressed. Then the announced called out the names for the train. “Okay, that’s you. You’ll let me know about the funeral?”

“I’ll make sure you get an invitation.” Iris sighed and smiled, hugging her. “Love you, pretty girl.”

“Love you too, babydoll.”

***

Iris was sitting alone with Linda, and to Felicity’s relief, she had less of an urge to go after Tommy Holland with a tire iron. She was right, this whole thing had reminded her of that terrible period last year with Dawn, but Felicity had calmed her down enough that she was content to let the police to their job. “For a while,” she’d said. “If they drop the ball, we’re taking them out.”

The day had gone by not in hours but in events – the nurses saying that Linda would hopefully wake up the next day, Steph going into surgery, Iris talking to Chris’ mother on the phone, and everyone visiting Linda. Iris was currently existing on terrible hospital coffee and sandwiches from the vending machine, and was fighting to stay awake as the moonlight filtered through Linda’s window. She took her hands, soft and warm.

“Hey, Lin,” she said quietly. “You scared the fuck out of us, you know. The doctors are saying that your brain isn’t swelling anymore, which is good. So hopefully you can wake up soon so we can all yell at you. Or maybe we shouldn’t, since your mom’s going to be here any minute so she can do that herself.

“So, Tommy Holland, huh? That’s your super-secret project? Gotta tell you, I’m pretty impressed, and so is everyone else. Don’t worry about it, though, your story is safe. Mason has all the evidence and Felicity did her weird hacker thing so they’re never going to make anything disappear. And Chris and Steph are going to be fine, I just talked to their doctors.” Iris sniffled. “You’re the last one, Linny, and we’re all rooting for you. Come back to us soon, okay? Come back and give us a great story.”

Iris got up and kissed her friend on the forehead gently, just as Barry knocked on the door and came in. “Hey. How is she?”

“The same. How’s things out there?”

“Eddie did all his interviews and went back to the station; Felicity and Wally said they’d be back tomorrow, and Ronnie, Caitlin and Cisco will be here too.”

“Okay,” Iris nodded, and turned back to Linda, pushing her hair out of her face and adjusting her blankets. They were silent for a while

“Now, I’m not a real superhero,” Barry began quietly, and Iris looked at him. “And if I had a superpower, I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be giving hugs. But I can try.”

Iris gave him a small smile. Barry had been here all day, helping her field calls from everyone who called for an update while Iris was talking to doctors or surgeons or filling out insurance forms. His shirt was rumpled and he had stubble on his face, but Iris didn’t think he’d ever looked more adorable. “Are you sure? It’s a big responsibility, being a superhero.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Iris went to him and wrapped her arms around him, sighing as his arms came up around her back. “Thanks for staying with us.”

“Sure. Plus, you know Linda would kill me if I didn’t.”

“Oh, definitely.” Iris let out a yawn and Barry pulled back. “Iris, you need to sleep.”

“No, I’m not tired.” Barry narrowed his eyes at her and she huffed. “I’m not! Besides, I have to talk to Linda’s mom when she gets here. She’ll be here any minute.”

“I can do that. Come here.” He took her arm and led her to the sofa, before sitting them both down in it. “Iris, if you stayed in that chair next to Linda you would have fallen asleep there, and then you would have been mad at me for letting you get a crick in your neck.”

“Whatever,” she huffed again. “Get down so I can use your shoulder for a pillow, bossypants.”

“Bossypants?”

“It’s been a long day,” she whined, “and I can’t think of effective insults on subpar coffee.”

Barry chuckled and let her get settled against him. Iris closed her eyes and breathed him in. Honestly, she probably smelled like sweat and coffee, but Barry still smelled like freshly-washed sheets. She kind of hated him for it, but she was too tired to say anything about it. “Wally was so scared, seeing her like that.”

“Yeah, I saw. Is he okay?”

“I think so. I’ll call him when I wake up. Linda’s practically family, you know? He almost didn’t come in, he was so freaked.”

“I’ll say,” Barry laughed quietly. “For one thing, he didn’t call me CSI the Dork.”

“God, is he still calling you that?” she yawned. “I’ll get him to stop, I promise.”

“You don’t have to do that, Iris. I don’t mind.”

“Well, I do.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re my Barry,” she said softly, barely aware of what she was saying, before promptly falling asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it wasn't WA heavy, but I loved their moment at the end. This one felt kind of messy to me because I had a lot to do in this chapter, so I'd appreciate feedback!


	14. Jelly Beans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Linda wakes up and Iris gets a visitor from her past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is short because the next one is looking to be VERY long, so sorry about that. And also, you guys are going to hate me for this chapter.

_You’re my Barry_.

Barry was still thinking about what Iris had said almost an hour later.

They’d had an awful day, and Barry was surprised at how much his heart had sunk with dread when he’s found out that Linda was in the hospital. Linda with her big heart and quick wit and incredible ability to make you seem like you were her very best friend in the whole world. He couldn’t believe that anyone had hurt Linda; the thought made him want to punch someone. He would have gone to the hospital for her alone, of course, but then she saw the devastation in every line of Iris’ face when she saw that Linda was hurt.

It wasn’t hard spending the day with Iris in the hospital – though his heart did twist every time he saw Linda in the bed or heard something about the interns or realised how many people had been in the riots. Iris had been there for him when she barely knew him, so there was no way that he could leave her alone like this. He knew that she would work herself sick and so of course made her go to sleep when she started yawning. That was when she had wrapped her arms around one of his and settled into him, and when they were talking she called him ‘her Barry’.

Barry had stilled even as his heart had started racing uncontrollably. It was ridiculous, of course – she called Felicity her pretty girl, Linda her Lin-Lin, Eddie her pretty boy, Wally her dumbo…It didn’t mean anything. If anything, it meant that she thought of him as a friend. A good friend. But Barry was starting to realise that those words coming out of her mouth had meant something to him. And it was different from wanting to kiss her or touch her again, and it terrified the hell out of him. Because there was a reason that he had only had a few girlfriends in his life and that he was so very afraid to say those three words that usually ended in heartbreak for him.

But just for a minute, he allowed himself to imagine it to be true.

That they would be hanging out like they always did these days, and Iris would see someone she knew and she would bound up to them in that exuberant way that she did, dragging Barry along with her (because of course he would follow because everyone around Iris always followed her everywhere), and she would grin at everyone and proudly say, ‘This is my Barry’. And he would smile and feel light inside, because the idea of being Iris’ Barry made him feel like flying. As he was thinking this Iris shifted and clutched at his arm tighter, and that’s when he brought his arm up to stroke her hair, his breath hitching when she sighed in her sleep.

And that was all he allowed himself to have, those three things – her clutching his arm tight and the feel of her hair under his fingers and ‘my Barry’ – before he clamped down on everything he was feeling with a swallow. Because he could not allow himself to fall for Iris West.

Not when falling had already broken him too many times.

Linda’s mother showed up a few hours later, which Barry only knew because she was the spitting image of Linda only with grey at her temples and shorter hair. She frowned at him as she entered the room.

“Mrs Park,” he said quietly, careful not to disturb Iris. “Um, Mrs Park-Vincent. Hello. I…How was your flight?”

“Long,” she replied, narrowing her eyes at him. “And who the hell are you?”

“I’m Barry. Barry Allen. I’m Linda’s friend – Iris and I have been here all day. She wanted to tell you what the doctors said, but she was pretty stressed and tired and I made her go to sleep.”

Linda’s mother seemed to see something in his face, or maybe it was that Iris was practically sitting on top of him, that made her believe him. She nodded and looked towards Linda, and that achingly deep devastation – of a mother seeing her child hurt – made a lump form in Barry’s throat. He very carefully detached himself from Iris, shifting a pillow under her head, stretched, and went to stand next to Mrs Park.

“She’s been doing pretty well already, all things considered,” Barry said to her. “The swelling in her brain has stopped and they think they can take the neck brace off soon. If everything goes according to plan, she should be out of here by the end of the week.”

“Oh,” she breathed. “Thank you…Barry.” Then she looked at him. “You must be fairly new in my daughter’s life, Barry, because I’ve never met you before.”

“We met a month ago – I’m Iris’ friend from work-”

“Which makes you Linda’s friend too,” she laughed quietly. “Those two have been joined at the hip since they were children.”

Barry smiled fondly. “Well, yeah. It’s really hard not to be Linda’s friend. Anyway, I should go – I promised I would tell you what was going on if Iris didn’t wake up, but since you’re here I guess you don’t need me anymore.”

“Barry,” she said as he picked up his jacket. “Thank you for being here today.”

“Of course,” he shrugged. “It’s Linda.”

Mrs Park glanced at the sleeping figure of Iris, bathed in moonlight on the sofa. “Yes. Linda. But go home and get some sleep, Barry, I want you to. You have no idea how much it means to me that you stayed here with her.”

“I’ll be here tomorrow,” he told her. “I mean, I planned to, if that’s okay-”

“Of course you can come, Barry.” She surprised him by pulling him into a hug before he left. Glancing once more at Iris and Mrs Park as she settled next to her, Barry walked out of the room.

***

Barry went into work the next day planning to visit Linda in the afternoon – Iris told him that she would text him when Linda woke up. He sipped his coffee as he made his way into his lab, looking over the files that Captain Singh had handed him as he came in. Everyone was still busy investigating the riots, but they still had other work to do. Maybe if he-

“Barry.”

“ _Holy shi_ \- Oliver, you asshole, do you have to do that?” Barry demanded. “God, you almost gave me a heart attack.”

Oliver, who had wandered out from behind his shelves of test tubes, shrugged. “No, but it was fun. Felicity, Dig?”

The other two wandered out from the store cupboard and Barry rolled his eyes. “Did you guys come here to take ten years off my life, or…”

“We need a favour,” Diggle told him. “We’ve been investigating the spread of a drug across Star City and we have reason to believe it may have been in whatever Tommy Holland was doping with.”

“I’ve hacked into his medical records,” Felicity added, “which includes everything’s that been in his system for the past three years.”

“And you need your friendly neighbourhood CSI to make sense of all the big long toxscreens,” Barry sighed. He walked over to his desk and set his stuff down before holding his arm out for the report. “What, so you think it was just dirty drugs? Like heroin or something?”

Oliver cleared his throat. “Why don’t we see what you find first? How’s Linda?”

“Better than yesterday, but still not awake. Mrs Park got there this morning and Iris is still with her, I think.” Barry paused and rubbed his eyes. “I mean, I hope she’ll be awake soon, but-”

“Barry,” Oliver said, a hand on his shoulder, “we will find who did this.”

“And Linda will be fine,” Felicity added hopefully. “She’s all kinds of badass.”

“Thanks…OK, normal, normal, normal…Jeez, how much do these guys eat before a game?...Normal, normal – _Shit_. Oliver, give me that computer over there.”

Oliver handed him a laptop that was sitting on a top shelf and Barry opened up the screen, his fingers flying over the keys in a panic. “Oliver, you remember when we met and you were shot up with something that made you hallucinate?”

Oliver exchanged a look with Diggle. “Yes…”

 “Whatever was in Tommy Holland’s system is a concentrated version of whatever they shot you up with,” Barry explained, showing him the results. “See? It’s a very powerful hallucinogen, which probably why he attacked Linda and the others – he probably thought he was seeing things when she started asking him questions.” He looked at Oliver, who had gone very still and very quiet. “Oliver? Do you know who this is?”

“Yes, unfortunately I do,” he replied, exchanging a look with Diggle, and Felicity groaned. “Oh god, they’re doing the thing. I hate it when they do the thing.”

“What thing?”

“The ‘I Was Marooned On A Desert Island and Now My Old Enemies Are Coming Back to Haunt Me’ thing. I hate it when they do the thing.”

Barry raised his eyebrows. “Is that true? Are you doing the thing?”

Oliver ignored the question. “Barry, the person responsible for this is the most dangerous man I have ever known, and that’s saying something. He must have been testing it out on the team, which is why they started acting like that – they’re not normal steroids. Your friend Linda could be in danger if this man finds out that she knows something.”

“Oliver, she doesn’t know anything,” he said, sharing a desperate glance with Felicity. “It’s just doping; it’s not like she’s trying to go after the Joker.”

“I know, and that’s why I’m going to put a watch on her and all of you until we can lure him out of the city,” he told him. “His fight, whatever it is, should be with me, not any of you.”

“We should tell Iris,” Felicity said. “To look out for Linda, make sure she doesn’t do anything that could draw attention to herself.”

Diggle nodded. “If we tell her, we don’t have to tell Linda you’re the Arrow, and we can keep them both safe.”

“Good idea. Barry, do you know if Linda will accept anymore visitors? I wouldn’t want to freak her out in her state.

“You mean that Oliver Queen is visiting her? I think she’d love it. But don’t worry, Felicity and I can take care of it. Eddie and I are going to see her later; we can talk to Iris and see if we can keep her safe.”

“How is Iris?” Diggle asked, a little too casually. Felicity pressed her lips together.

“She’s been better, considering a drugged-up baseball player almost killed her best friend two days ago,” Barry frowned.

“Why don’t you sing to her?” Oliver suggested, smiling affably. “I’m sure that would make her feel better.”

“ _The way you make me feel_ ,” Diggle crooned quietly. “ _You really turn me on_.”

“Oh God, weren’t they adorable?” Felicity squealed.

“Guys…”

“Come on, Barry,” Oliver laughed. “Even I can tell that you like her.”

Barry raised his eyebrows. “Really? You three want to give me advice on my love life. You’re Oliver Queen, so I don’t need to say anything more about that. Dig, _you’re_ dating your ex-wife but neither one of you will commit, and Felicity-”

“Barry’s right,” she said quickly, cutting him off as her cheeks turned pink. “Let’s just concentrate on helping Linda, shall we?”

It wasn’t until a few hours later, when he was knee-deep in analysis of a robbery that had happened the week before, that he got a text from Iris:

_:) :) :) Linda’s awake. Going home to shower and get clothes for her – want to head back together?_

Sure!!!! :)

He was about to text her more when Eddie walked in, a huge grin on his face. “Did you hear?”

Barry grinned back, handing him an analysis he’d just completed. “Yeah, Iris just told me. She’s going home for a bit, then she’s going to meet me here so we can go over together.”

Eddie nodded. “I’m coming with you. Linda’s the last witness to be interviewed, and I’d rather she could talk to someone she knows.” He paused, looking at the report Barry had just given him. “Ah, can’t do this today…Spivot! Could you take care of this for me?”

Patty Spivot, who was getting something from the copy room, smiled as she walked over. “What do you need, Eddie?”

“Barry here just completed this forensics report for me, but I don’t have time to go through it before adding it to the case file. Could you-”

“No problem. What is this, the Suarez case?”

“Yeah,” Eddie answered. “Pretty simple for you, since you’re already got a CSI background.”

“Wow, they used some kind of sulphur solution to melt the locks? Must have been some great diamonds. I didn’t even know you could do that.”

“Well, you know what they say,” Barry shrugged. “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the precipitate.”

Before Barry could apologise for telling such a dumb joke, Patty started giggling, her hand over her mouth, and Barry smiled back. Eddie looked between the two of them, eyebrows raised, but that was when they heard Iris’ voice coming up the stairs. She looked fresher and happier than she did yesterday; she was practically skipping down the corridor. “Hey, everyone. What are we laughing at?”

“Hey, ladybird,” Eddie said. “Apparently we found someone who actually understands Barry’s dumb science jokes.”

“They’re not that bad!” Barry said indignantly, as Iris wandered off to his desk. “Patty likes them.”

“They’re pretty funny,” she admitted, her cheeks colouring. Eddie smirked at her.

“Uh-huh. Just get that report done when you can, okay? I just need – Oh, shit. Detective Thawne? Yeah, that’s…No, fine. Guys, will you give me a minute?”

Iris, who had found the secret stash of brownies that she’d hidden in Barry’s desk, nodded at Eddie as he paused his phone call. “Sure,” Barry said. “We’ll be here.”

“Bye Barry,” Patty added, following Eddie out of the room.

“Bye, Patty.” He paused. “Iris.”

“Mmf?” she muttered around a mouthful of brownies.

“I thought those were supposed to be for emergencies,” he said, walking up to her. Iris swallowed and wiped her mouth, looking at all the papers on his desk.

“Duh, Barry. My best friend was in a coma, and now she’s awake. These is relief-eating.”

“Well, you could at least give me one.”

“Help yourself, it’s not…Oh.”

Barry frowned. “What’s up?”

Iris held up a copy of a newspaper. “My article. You read it?”

He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a blush creep into his cheeks. “Yeah, I did. A couple of times, actually. It’s incredible, Iris, one of the best things I’ve ever read in my entire life. I can see why you won the Pulitzer.”

Iris nodded, putting her brownie down. “Yeah.”

“Iris.”

“Yes?”

“What’s wrong?”

“How do you know anything’s wrong?”

“Because as long as I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you not finish a brownie.”

“You haven’t known me that long.”

“I know you well enough.”

Iris smiled faintly. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Um, you know the girl in the second part of the article? The one who was killed by the Dollmaker?”

“Yeah. Dana Quayle, right?”

“Right, except that’s not her real name. Her real name is – was – Dawnette Quinzel. We all just called her Dawn.”

“’We’?”

“She was my college roommate. Linda and Felicity knew her too. And the reason I know so much about her and the case is because…because I’m the one who found her.”

Barry stared at her, at the tight set of her shoulders, of the quiet grief in her eyes. “She…You knew her? You _found_ her?”

“Yeah. I was there visiting last year, and she went missing, and the police wouldn’t do anything about it. You know that part already, I guess,” she added, laughing quietly. “So I went to go look for her-”

“You _what_?”

“Don’t worry, Barry. Felicity and Linda and Oliver and Diggle and Eddie and Wally _and_ my dad already kicked my ass for it. But in my defence, I didn’t actually think I’d find him. I found her body, and I was about to call it in when he k-kidnapped me. He’d wanted to go after Laurel after he made sure that Dawn was ready for the police to find, and he told me he’d kill me afterwards.”

“ _Iris_ ,” he breathed, his hands going to her shoulders. “If this is too hard-”

“No, it’s okay. I mean, everyone around you knows, you might as well know too. But that wasn’t even the worst part, you know? Finding Dawn, or being kidnapped by him, or even hearing Detective Lance begging him not to kill Laurel before he saved us all. It was…The way he _talked_. They way he talked about killing Dawn and Laurel and me. Like it was art, like it was something to be proud of. I mean, I’ve lived in Gotham before and their police department sees their fair share of crazy people, and I used to watch murder documentaries all the time, but it’s different when it’s _you_. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the look on his face. When Oliver killed him, I wasn’t sorry, I was relieved, and I’m not usually that person. But, God, what he did to Dawn, and what that did to her family, and poor Harley…” Iris sighed and looked at him. “I don’t know how any of you do it. You or Eddie or my dad. Even Oliver and Dig. Because I don’t think I could look into the eyes of another murderer and _not_ want to put a bullet through his skull.”

Barry nodded, feeling something hollow in his stomach even as he smiled at her. “Well, I don’t know about that. I’m just a CSI, you know.”

“I don’t know, I heard you had superpowers,” she laughed softly. “I mean, not as powerful as me, but…”

“Hey, you two,” Eddie said breathlessly, finally off the phone. “You ready to go?”

They walked to the hospital quickly, talking about seeing Mrs Park and hoping Linda was alright. Barry answered their questions but was lost in his own world, thinking about what Iris had said. It was understandable, of course. Her friend had been murdered by a complete psychopath and then she’d been kidnapped by the same mind. It was completely understandable that she would have a less than charitable attitude towards murderers. But he couldn’t shake that familiar, hollow feeling in his stomach, when he realised that this was yet another girl he liked that he would never be able to open up to. He’d thought that Iris, with her big heart and her sunshine smile and the way that she always made him feel grounded whenever he saw her. She was a journalist – she’d take one look at the evidence against his father and conclude that he was guilty. Not like he’d ever considered…Anyway, it didn’t matter.

He’d just wished, for once, that a little bit of luck would go his way.

“’Bring me jelly beans’,” Iris frowned, looking at her phone. They had arrived at the hospital and she’d just gotten a text. Eddie and Barry peered over her should to read it.

“Is Linda allowed jelly beans now that she’s out of the ICU?” Iris asked.

“Doesn’t matter whether she’s allowed them or not, it’s Linda,” Eddie replied. “She’s not going to stop texting until…Yep, there it is, ‘Bring me jelly beans’.”

Barry laughed. “Is she seriously going to…” He broke off as his phone beeped with the same message. “Okay, I guess she’s serious.”

“Does she mean three bags of jelly beans or one bag of jelly beans?”

They exchanged a look and then said, “Three.”

“Why don’t I get them, and you guys can head up there?” Barry suggested. “There’s no reason why we should all have to wait.”

“Are you sure, Bar?” Iris asked him. “I know how much you wanted to see Linda.”

“Yeah, I do, but I’d rather be the one seeing her when I’m carrying bags of jelly beans than the detective asking questions and the best friend forcing her to take her medicine.”

“Fair point,” Eddie admitted. “Besides, Wally’s already up there, so Iris and I can be a break from his corny jokes.”

They walked off, joking and laughing, and Barry smiled at their backs before walking into the gift shop. He got some flowers and a teddy bear before he went to the candy aisle, and almost bumped into someone reaching for the jelly beans.

“Sorry,” they said together and laughed. The guy was a little shorter than him but very well-built, with defined muscles bulging under his brown skin. He had bright brown eyes and his smile showed straight white teeth. With all of that and the fact that he was dressed in a business suit with cufflinks and a very fancy watch, Barry thought this guy wouldn’t look out of place on a runway. He looked in his basket and raised his eyebrows.

“Visiting someone with a sweet tooth, huh?” the guy laughed.

“Yeah, my friend is the demanding type. You?”

“I haven’t seen mine in a while, but I know that she loves her jelly beans. Hey, you couldn’t tell me where the Tower Ward is, could you? I’m not from around here and this place of kinda confusing.”

“Sure. I’m headed up there now, actually, it’s not that far.” They walked out of the gift shop and headed around the corner. “So where are you from?”

“Gotham. I’m here for a business meeting, but then I heard she was in the hospital and…You know Linda?”

They had stopped outside of Linda’s room and they could already hear the sounds of everyone talking and laughing inside. Barry frowned. “Yeah, she’s my friend. How do you know her?”

“Well, I met her a few years ago, but I actually know her through-”

“ _Kyle_!” Iris spluttered, shocked, as the two of them walked into the room.

“Kyle!” Eddie exclaimed happily.

“Kyle,” Linda repeated in confusion.

“Oh, boy,” Felicity breathed, looking between Barry and Kyle.

“Hey, everyone,” he replied easily. Kyle didn’t seem fazed by any of it, handing his own bunch of flowers to Linda and hugging her. Then he hugged Eddie and Felicity, both of whom looked very pleased to see him. Then he stood in front of Iris, who hadn’t taken her eyes off him since he walked in, and smiled that thousand-watt smile. “Iris.”

“Kyle,” she said again, and then she reached up to hug him. Barry swallowed. _This_ was who she’d broken up with? The rich, muscly Adonis in the three-piece suit with the fancy cufflinks? “I…What are you doing here?”

But that was when Linda’s mother out of the bathroom washing her hands, and regarded them with a smile. “Barry, it’s lovely to see you again. Kyle, this is a surprise! Did you come all the way from Gotham to see Linda?”

“Yeah,” Linda added. “How did you know I was in the hospital?”

“That’s my fault,” her mother admitted, sitting down on the bed next to her. “I was trying to call Iris when the hospital called me, but I only had the number she had while…while she was in Gotham. So then Kyle gave me the new number.”

“And I was passing through, so obviously I had to see you, Linda,” he continued, giving her a small smile. Jesus. Did he think he was auditioning for a photo shoot or something? “How are you feeling?”

“A lot better with all that candy,” she replied, holding her arms out. “Gimme.”

“There’s my Lin,” he chuckled, and everyone laughed. Linda looked at him. “Barry? Dude, hand ‘em over.”

“Y-Yeah, sure,” he said, giving them to her. He put the flowers teddy bear on the side and was just trying to figure out what to do with his hands when Wally walked in, grumbling.

“I had to go across the street to get a burger,” he said irritably. “This hospital food sucks.”

“Why didn’t you just eat the beef tamales you made?” Eddie suggested.

“Duh, those are for Linda,” he replied as if Eddie was stupid. Then he finally seemed to notice who was in the room. “Kyle? What are you doing here?”

“He came to see Linda,” Barry found himself answering with a tight smile. And then resisted the urge to add ‘And kill us all with his thousand-watt smile’.

“Actually,” he said, “I’m in town for a series of meeting with Ray Palmer this week, and since I needed to come here anyway I came a day early.”

“Why’d you come?” Wally asked.

“To see Iris.”

Everyone looked at Iris, who blinked. “Me? You came to see me?”

“Yeah,” he said, scratching his neck. “It’s kind of important. Something happened, and I need to talk to you about it. I actually need to go right now, so do you mind if I we talk for a second?”

“S-Sure,” Iris said, looking around. “If no one needs me-”

“No, you go,” Felicity interrupted, her eyes wide. “We’ll take care of anything that comes up.”

“I’ll go with you,” Mrs Park said, grabbing her coat. “I need to call work anyway.”

They left, and Felicity, Eddie, and Linda immediately started talking, apparently forgetting that Barry was there. And having a crisis because Iris was walking off with someone that could give Lance Gross a run for his money.

“What is he _doing_ here?” Linda asked.

“Is he here to give her the ring?” Felicity gasped. “You think he knows that she knows?”

Eddie frowned. “There was a ring?”

“No, he’s not here to give her the ring,” Linda scoffed. “He doesn’t know she knows there was a ring.”

“So she found the ring?”

“Right.”

“But he’s not going to give her the ring.”

“I’m not sure. Felicity-”

“I am not hacking into her phone.”

“Huh,” Eddie said. “So Iris didn’t want the ring.”

Barry finally found his voice. “There…There was a ring?”

Felicity and Linda only just seemed to notice that he was still standing there. They exchanged a look. “Well, it might not have been a _ring_ ring…” Felicity said uncertainly.

“Oh, there was a ring,” Wally said idly around a mouthful of cheeseburger. “You remember when Kyle and Iris came home for my birthday a few months ago? Yeah, he asked dad for permission to ask _her_ to marry him.”

“And Joe said yes?” Barry asked. Wally shrugged.

“Apparently, if he bought a ring. I wonder why she broke up with him.”

“She never told you?”

“I’m her brother, not her therapist. But if I know Iris, from the look on her face, she could be about ready to take him back.”

Eddie snorted. “And you’re surprised? He’s rich and smart and I think his family own half of Martha’s Vineyard, for crying out loud.”

“Plus he’s the only guy I’ve ever met who’s prettier than you,” Felicity added.

“Right?” Linda muttered. “He’s built like a linebacker.”

“That’s how they met, remember? Iris was a cheerleader…”

“Right, the football game,” Eddie remembered. “Even I have to admit, that’s a cute story.”

“Are you guys serious?” Wally demanded, swallowing. “He’s so _boring_! If I were her friends, I’d be trying to talk her out of it.”

“Yeah, but Iris really loved him,” Eddie shrugged. “Maybe she’s rethinking things. Plus, there’s nothing holding her back, is there?”

As if on cue, both Felicity and Linda looked at Barry, who swallowed. Wally scoffed. “You guys are terrible. Barry agrees with me, don’t you, Barry?”

Barry swallowed, that hollow feeling growing again. “I think Iris should do whatever makes her happy. And…And I think I should go.”

“What?” Linda frowned. “Barry…”

“No, it’s cool,” he shrugged. “I’m kind of exhausted, and once Iris and Kyle and your mom get back it’ll be kind of crowded. But I’ll come see you tomorrow, okay?”

Barry hugged Felicity and Eddie goodbye, and then kissed Linda on they cheek as he hugged her. “Don’t give up, Barry Allen,” she whispered into his ear. “I’m the best friend, and I’m rooting for you.”

Barry laughed quietly and waved goodbye before walking out of the hospital room. And that would have been enough, those two things, Iris probably being unable to see Barry as anything but the son of a man who was like the Dollmaker, and Iris’ perfect used-to-be-almost-but-soon-to-be-definite fiancé. But the universe wanted him to have things in threes, apparently, because as soon as he got to the café outside the hospital, he saw them sitting there. Iris’ back was to him, but he could see Kyle’s face as they talked over coffee and…well, he wasn’t surprised at the look on his face. Kyle was definitely _her_ Kyle. And Iris hadn’t looked at anyone else as soon as he walked into the room.

Barry sighed and walked off in the other direction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHAT IS KYLE DOING HERE? WHAT ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT? DID LINDA EAT ALL THE JELLY BEANS?  
> ...I told you y'all would hate me.


	15. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the gang goes to dinner and it goes about as well as you'd expect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LOVED writing this. I think it might be my favourite. Disclaimer: contains lyrics from L.O.V.E. by Nat King Cole. All rights belong to him. Warning: longest chapter yet.

Iris West should have been concentrating.

Because she had about a million things to do and she was running out of time to do them in. She’d handed in the final draft of the second part of her article and had to start work on the third, which meant she was doing research on what STAR Labs and the Particle Accelerator could do for the city. She also had several leads on that weird case on her blog, so she needed to get all this work done today so she had enough time during the week to go investigate. Plus, after a week in the hospital Linda was finally coming home, and even though she was going to be staying with her mother until she was completely fine, Iris and Eddie had promised to help bring her home from the hospital and get their house set up for Linda coming home. So Iris had that to worry about. But she wasn’t. Because she was worrying about Kyle.

Who said he had to _give_ her something.

Kyle Richardson hadn’t changed, apparently, because he walked into that hospital room like he owned it and didn’t seem to mind that everyone was staring at him. Nothing ever fazed him, which was one of the things she’d found most attractive about him when they were dating. But now he was here in Central City, with his charm and his calm and saying that he had something to _give_ her. He hadn’t elaborated over coffee, saying he was late enough as it was, and Ray Palmer was apparently monopolising all of his time this week because he said they would have lunch on the following Monday. But he had told her not to worry. Which Iris absolutely did not trust, because he’d said that right before she’d met his barracuda of a mother.

And then there was Barry.

She hadn’t seen him since last week – when she went back after having coffee with Kyle, he was gone. And when she’d texted him, his replies were kind of short, and for the first time in their – admittedly, short – friendship, she felt like she was bothering him. It was weird. For some reason, having that coffee with Kyle felt like she was cheating on Barry. Which was…Which was ridiculous.

Wasn’t it?

“West!”

Iris looked up from not doing her work to see Mason’s face looming over her desk. “Hey, Mase,” she said brightly. “What’s up?”

“Have you started working on the dedication for your article yet?”

“Dedication?”

“Feature articles here at CCPN get big dedications,” he says in a thoroughly bored voice. “What, that didn’t happen over at the Gotham Gazette, happiest place in the world?”

“Would it kill you to say something nice about another newspaper?”

“I haven’t smiled since 1995, so probably. Just make sure you start working on it soon, that’s the thing people usually forget.”

Iris sat back. “Right, but who should I dedicate it to?”

“How about that CSI guy who helped you with it?” his suggests. “I’m sure he’d appreciate that.”

“Why him?”

“Because you’re in love with him.”

Iris blinked repeatedly at him, suddenly breathless. “What? No. I’m not…That’s not…You’re…I’m not in love with Barry.”

For the first time, Mason looked mildly interested. “Sure you are. You look all cheerful and chipper whenever he comes in, even for you. It’s kind of disgusting.”

“Yeah, but that’s just because we’re friends,” she said quickly. “I mean, we’re close, but I’m not in love with him. That would be…That would be weird.”

“Hm, denial. This has the potential to be entertaining. Call me when it is.”

Iris was still thinking about it when she was driving to the precinct to pick up Eddie so they could go to the hospital together. But that was ridiculous. Mason was being ridiculous. She wasn’t in love with Barry. Barry was her friend. You didn’t fall in love with your friends. Surely there were rules against that?

“Iris!”

“Hey, pretty boy,” she said, hugging him quickly. “What’s up?”

“I just have to give this report about the robbery from the History Museum to Singh and get some stuff from my desk, and we’re good to go get Lin. Hey, Joe! Iris is here!”

Iris grinned as her father strolled into the atrium with his favourite coffee cup in hand and hugged her. “Hey, baby girl, what are you doing here?”

“Eddie and I are bringing Lin from the hospital today. Her mom set up her old room for her in their house.”

“You gonna be alone in your apartment? You can come stay at home if you want.”

Iris scoffed as Eddie walked back to his desk. “And have to watch Wally eat with his mouth open at dinner? No thanks, one Sunday a week is enough.”

 “How’s Linda?”

“Well, she keeps demanding jelly beans and she won’t stop working even when everyone tells her not to,” Iris replied. “So she’s back to normal. Anyway, what’s up with you guys? Anything interesting going on that I should know about?”

Joe raised his eyebrows at her. “Nice try, Iris.”

“Damn it. Jesus, Eddie, what is that thing?”

“Engagement present from Kyle,” he explained. Eddie had walked back over to them hefting a large blue gift bag along with his briefcase. “You missed him by about an hour, actually.”

Iris looked between Eddie and her father. “No.”

“No, what?” her father said innocently.

“You both have your detective faces on. What, you think I can’t tell when you guys are grilling me for information? I’m a reporter, not an idiot.”

“Come on, Iris, please?” Eddie begged. “You’re getting back together, right? That’s why he’s here.”

“No, we’re not – Eddie, _stop_. He says he wants to give me something.”

“Is it the ring?” her father asked. “Eddie and I think it’s the ring.” Iris stared at him.

“How did you know about the ring? And how do _you_ know?”

“I’m the dad,” Joe shrugged. “He had to ask me.”

“Oh, I just talked to Linda and Felicity. And Wally.”

Iris made a silent note to kill her two best friends.

“So, are you seeing him again? Are you going to say yes when he proposes? Why’d you guys break up, anyway?”

“I’m not telling you that, Eddie.”

“That’s not fair, you – Okay, Barry can help wear her down. Get her to tell us why she broke up with Kyle.”

 _Oh God_. Iris would have given her left lung if the ground opened up and swallowed her whole, she really would. Barry was coming down the stairs of the precinct when Eddie spotted him, and now he looked like he would rather be anywhere but right here. She didn’t blame him, since her personal life tended to involve sociopathic serial killers and too-confident ex-boyfriends who upended your emotions by saying they wanted to _give_ you something. It had been the first time she’d seen him since the hospital with Linda, but he’d barely glanced at her as he came to stand with their little group. Jesus. Maybe she _had_ done something to upset him, and this couldn’t have been helping. She turned back to Eddie.

“Eddie, I’m sure Barry doesn’t want to be talking about this.”

“Iris is right. I mean, I barely even know the guy,” Barry pointed out. But he still wasn’t looking at her, and for some reason she really wanted him to.

“Yeah, but you tell each other everything,” Eddie shrugged. “I’ve been stuck with you and Linda for the past fifteen years – I need another guy on my side.” Joe sipped his coffee.

“We can always kick you out of the group,” Iris suggested helpfully. “That way when you piss of Bette you get to learn how to deal with it yourself.”

“Okay, okay,” Eddie said quickly. “Shutting up. You don’t have to tell me anything, ladybird. Just be happy.”

“Thanks. Sorry, Barry,” she added. “Eddie turns into ‘Detective Thawne’ whenever he wants to know something.”

“Eh, I’m used to it,” he shrugged. “Besides, at least we agree that we both want you to be happy.”

Iris smiled in surprise. “Thanks, Barry.”

Joe sipped his coffee again. “So, anyway,” Barry continued, “I was gonna make a lunch run, you guys want anything?”

“Nope, Iris and I are getting Linda from the hospital,” Eddie answered.

“BLT on rye,” Joe said, handing him some cash. “Thanks, Barry. Hey, you still going to the doctor?”

Barry laughed. “Yeah, Joe, I am.”

“Good. I’m not gonna have you fainting all over the place when you could have avoided it. Hey, Spivot. Allen’s making a lunch run, you want anything?”

Iris looked up to see Patty Spivot, the woman who was going to take over as her father’s new partner once Eddie and Bette moved to Coast City, walking towards Singh’s office. “Hey, guys. I’m good, actually, but thanks. That’s…a pretty big gift you got there, Eddie.”

“Best _and_ worst part about getting engaged,” he said. “Our apartment is covered in ribbons. I think I coughed one up the other day.” Eddie paused as everyone laughed, then seemed to remember something. “Hey, Patty, you’re coming to the dinner on Sunday, right?”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” she replied. Then her eyes slid to Barry. “Are you going too, Barry?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah. Got me a suit and everything.”

“Great,” Patty smiled. “Guess I’ll see you there.” And she walked into Singh’s office, shutting the door behind. Iris turned back to the guys, trying to make sense of the odd feeling in her stomach that had sprung when she saw Patty asking whether Barry would be at the dinner. Eddie was giving Barry a significant look, and Barry rolled his eyes. “Dude, seriously.”

“I don’t understand,” Eddie said, “why there is a perfectly nice girl who actually understands your dorky jokes and likes you, and you’re refusing to ask her out.”

Barry sighed again. Nobody noticed that Iris suddenly felt like she was going to throw up. “Come on, Eddie, it could be weird, we work together…”

“So? Patty’s great, everyone thinks so. Iris, you know Patty. She’s great, right?”

Everyone looked at Iris, who was now willing to give both lungs for the ground to swallow her up. The thing was…Patty was nice. She liked Patty. She was sweet and adorable and just as nerdy as Barry, and whenever she came by to visit Patty always gave her hints on the best way to find some news for a story. She and Barry would probably make a great couple, but for some reason the thought of them together made her want to slap Patty. But she didn’t have the right to be jealous because of someone who wasn’t even her boyfriend, especially when she had her own goddamn drama to deal with. And then there was the fact that she was secretly a blogger who wrote about conspiracy theories on the side – something she hadn’t even told Kyle even though she hadn’t told him all through the years they were dating. And something that a CSI, with their reliance on science to prove everything, wouldn’t appreciate.

So that was why she found herself saying, “…she’s great. Patty’s great, and you’re great, and you two would be great. So it’s…great.”

Barry looked at her with something that resembled hurt in his eyes, but when he blinked it was gone. Eddie grinned and Joe sipped his coffee again. “Great! Don’t worry, I’ll just sit you two next to each other at the dinner, so no pressure. And anything would be better than-” he broke off and shared a look with Joe. “The last person you dated.”

“Great,” Barry said tightly. “Anyway, better go get lunch.”

Barry wished them goodbye and walked off, and Iris felt like she’d walked into something and didn’t know how she got there. Suddenly she really, _really_ wanted to talk to Linda. “Iris?” Eddie asked. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” she said quietly. “I’m fine. I’ll meet you in the car, okay?”

As Iris walked off, she heard her dad clap Eddie on the shoulder. “You know, partner, promotion or not, you’ve got a lot to learn.”

***

“They found the nuns?”

“That’s what he said.”

“What does that even mean?”

Iris shrugged as she climbed into bed with Linda, whose eyes were glued to Grey’s Anatomy. The three of them had spent exactly fifteen minutes together before Eddie got a call on his phone and then practically raced out of the door, saying that they had found the nuns. Whatever that meant. “I guess,” Iris continued, “if we get him drunk enough at dinner, he’ll tell us.”

Linda made a noncommittal noise and grabbed a handful of jelly beans, and Iris looked at her friend. She was moving normally now, all of her stiches had dissolved, and the bruises around her neck had faded to faint yellow marks. Still, that didn’t lessen her desire to have whoever had done this kneecapped. Maybe she could ask Oliver. Linda caught her looking and sighed. “Iris, I’m fine. The doctor said my head is fine, my ribs just need rest, and there’ll be no major long-term effects.”

“I know,” she said quietly. “Still scary, though.”

“Well, I’m fine. You think I’d miss my chance to watch that dork Eddie get married?”

They laughed, and that’s when Linda’s mother knocked on the door. “Girls? You have a visitor.”

“Felicity!” Iris exclaimed happily.

“Latkes!” Linda’s eyes were shining at the sight of the covered dish in Felicity’s hands, and Felicity rolled her eyes. “Good to see you too, Lin.”

“Your latkes _are_ good, pretty girl,” Iris admitted. Felicity kicked off her shoes and got into bed with both of them, looking around at all the gifts and food people had brought. “You think you’ve got enough room for more food?”

“She’d better,” Iris said. “Cisco made quesadillas and Wally won’t stop making tamales.”

“God, who knew that one of the effects of being in an induced coma was death by Mexican food?”

“To be fair, Cisco didn’t want to bring quesadillas. He designed these protein bars that are supposed to get your energy up after such a traumatic incident taking its toll on the body.”

“That’s a pretty cool idea,” Felicity said. “What happened to those?”

“Ronnie said that Caitlin took them away because every time they took a bite their hands started shaking,” Linda answered. “So quesadillas it is.”

“Oh, and Mason signed a card for you,” Iris added, gesturing to a bag on the floor – one of many. “We didn’t even have to insult Cat Grant _or_ Perry White. It was a miracle.”

“Who brought the six-foot teddy bear?” Felicity asked.

“Kyle,” Linda shrugged. “He came by just before you guys got here.”

Iris suddenly became very interested in the lace on Linda’s bedding as she ate her latke, and Linda and Felicity shared a look. “So,” Felicity said slowly, “have you talked to him yet?”

“Not yet. We’re having lunch on Monday.”

“So he didn’t tell you what he wanted at the hospital?” Linda asked. “What did he say? What was he like? Do you think it’s something to do with his mother?”

“’Do you want a bagel?’, completely cryptic, and dear God, I hope not.”

Felicity picked at the fur on the teddy bear. “Well, how do you feel about everything? Like, right now, in this moment. If he proposed to you, would you say yes?”

Iris sighed. “No. I left Gotham for a reason, you know? But you never know with Kyle – he could have been using the coffee and bagels as a precursor to explaining why we we should get back together. And you know how convincing he can be.”

“God, yeah,” Linda muttered. “Like that time he convinced us all to go skydiving. Never again.”

“But that’s okay,” Felicity said. “You’re firm in your resolve. No matter how pretty the ring is.”

“Now I just have to get everyone else to believe that,” Iris laughed shortly. “You know Eddie wanted Kyle to come to the engagement dinner? But I nipped that in the bud – would have been way too awkward.”

“I’ll say,” Linda snorted. “Having your bagel next to your baguette.”

Iris rolled her eyes and Felicity snorted with laughter. “That’s hilarious.”

“Why would having Kyle being next to Barry be bad?”

“Because you’re in love with Barry, and I don’t think ‘pistols at dawn for Iris’ hand’ is the theme Eddie and Bette were going for.”

Iris groaned. “Why does everyone think I’m in love with Barry?” Felicity frowned.

“…because you are.”

“Who’s everyone?” Linda asked, entertained.

“I – Mason. But-”

“See, that means its true. He hasn’t smiled since 1995.”

“You should really tell him,” Felicity added. “It would be cute.”

“I’m not going to tell Barry that I’m in love with him.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m not!”

“Sure you’re not,” Linda scoffed. “I mean, there’s the long phone calls past midnight, the texting at all hours of the day, visiting him at work, making him dinner, all the touching, the dopey looks you give him…did I leave anything out?”

“The super hot sex,” Felicity added helpfully. “And the talking about him all the time.”

“That was one time,” Iris ground out. “We’re friends now. And I don’t talk about Barry anymore than I talk about any of you.”

“’Barry’s so great’,” Linda said. “’He does all this volunteer work, and he helps me for free, and he’s just _awesome_ ’.”

“’Did you know that he has a double major in physics and chemistry?’” Felicity continued. “’Barry’s _amazing_!’”

“’Barry is, like, the most adorable person I know. How does he not have a girlfriend yet?’”

“T-That doesn’t _mean_ anything,” Iris spluttered. “All of that stuff is true. Besides, Barry and I haven’t spoken in a week.” Felicity stared at her.

“You haven’t?”

“That explains the mopey look you’ve had on all week,” Linda said swiftly.

Iris threw a latke at her.

***

The thing with Iris West was, you didn’t know when you fell in love with her.

Maybe you fell in love like her parent, which was why Joe was always going on about all her achievements as a reporter. Or you were like Felicity, and you fell in love like you did with your friends, with their strength and their goodness and how much they were there for you. Or maybe you were like Kyle, and you fell in love in the forever way. That was what Iris did – she walked into your life and she made you love her, and the problem was that Barry didn’t know _how_.

Iris was his friend – not his best friend, that was probably Cisco – but she was also special to him in a way that no one else was. She’d comforted him about his mother dying without even being asked, she went to science things with him even though he knew she’d really rather be doing literally anything else, and she liked Jay and Joan, the people he considered family. Iris was his friend and he wanted her to stay that way, even though every time he saw her these days he just wanted to grab her and kiss her. Because if they made it something more he would, he would go right ahead and fall in love with her in the forever way, and then he would either tell her nothing and ruin it, like when Becky Cooper broke up with him because he kept lying about where he went or what he did for the impossible, or he’d tell her everything and ruin it. That’s what tended to happen when you told people that your father was a convicted murderer who was wrongfully imprisoned because your mother who was _actually_ killed by a man in a yellow suit.

Barry sighed as he made his way to Oliver’s Central City headquarters after work. It wasn’t that he hadn’t been here before, it was that he hadn’t noticed that this was where he’d ended up. The sex in the office certainly didn’t help, that he knew what it was like to kiss her and touch her and be wanted by her, but he thought they were good. They were good as friends. And Iris must have thought the same thing, because when Eddie suggested him dating Patty, she just smiled and said they’d be great together. Them as a couple was obviously the last thing on Iris’ mind. It was probably better this way, anyway – Barry would just have to be in this state of not-love until he got over it.

Or until Kyle proposed to Iris with the ring that was probably made of solid gold and they got married in a castle or something.

“Oliver?” Barry asked as he opened the door to the abandoned factory. Everything was dark and smelled like old books; Barry was careful not to fall over. “Dig? Felicity, you guys in here?”

“Hey, Barry.”

“ _Fuck_ – Jesus, Laurel, is that something that you _all_ do?”

Laurel shrugged lightly as the lights flickered on, smiling. “Just something that Oliver’s teaching me.”

“Oh, yeah,” Barry said sarcastically. “The thing you guys like to do where you turn my hair prematurely grey.”

Laurel led them to the middle of the room, where Felicity and Diggle where talking amongst the equipment that they had dragged from somewhere. Barry had to appreciate the fact that no matter where they went, they managed to find computers, weapons, and…”I thought you only did the salmon ladder on Wednesdays, Oliver?”

“Sometimes he likes to break the rules,” Felicity said dreamily as Oliver started another run of the ladder, and Diggle and Laurel shared an amused look. Barry cleared his throat. “Felicity…”

“Sorry. Uh, Oliver, Barry’s here.”

Oliver landed heavily on his feet, pulling his shirt on as he walked over to them. He nodded at Barry. “Glad you could come, Barry. We just wanted to let you know we think we’ve found the place that the drugs were coming from – we’re planning to hit it this week and see what we find.”

“You think it’s something to do with one of the guys you were with on the island?”

Oliver frowned. “I never told you that.”

Barry rolled his eyes. “Please, you didn’t have to. You had that whole ‘my enemies are out to kill me’ face on, remember. Anyway, what’d you need me for?”

“It’s about Linda,” Laurel was the one who answered. “More specifically, what she found. You know Tommy Holland’s lawyers have admitted to the doping, but they’re blaming his behaviour on the drugs?”

Barry nodded. They had been talking about it at the precinct all week, that Tommy Holland had confessed, but the details were strictly under wraps. He’d been willing to tell Iris, given that he usually told her everything in confidence, but he hadn’t really felt up to it this week.

“We think that as long as Linda reports on the doping alone, she should be safe from danger. Legally, she didn’t do anything wrong, and if there’s anything wrong…well, it pays to have a vigilante lawyer on your side.”

Barry smiled. “Good to know. Linda was going to go ahead with the story anyway, so I’m happy to know she’ll be safe.”

“How is she?” Diggle asked. “She came out of the hospital, right?”

“How’d you know that?”

“Oh, I just came from her house,” Felicity answered. “I made her latkes.”

“Correction,” Oliver added, “she made about five dozen latkes and used as her guinea pigs. I think I gained a pound.”

“I wanted them to be perfect!” Felicity exclaimed. “Linda has existed on hospital food for two weeks, I can’t have her coming home to subpar latkes. Besides, its Jewish tradition to make platefuls of food.”

“Linda should be cool,” Barry laughed. “Wally keeps making her tamales. And Eddie and Iris went over there today, so…Hey, did you say you’re doing the bust this week?”

“Yeah, on Sunday,” Diggle answered.

“Apparently, the Sabbath isn’t a good enough excuse to stop all the vigilante-ing,” Felicity added.

“You guys are still going to to dinner, right? Eddie’s really worried about it – Bette got her tour moved up again and he wants it to be perfect.”

“Eh, we’ll be there,” Oliver said, looking around. “It looks to be pretty simple.”

“Just a simple breaking and entering, destroy the supplies if we find them, maybe kill the guy who’s running it,” Diggle added.

“Great,” Laurel said, “I’ve been practicing for this.”

Barry looked at them all, open-mouthed. “Okay, great. Glad you guys are looking forward to your afternoon of violent crime-fighting.”

“Plus, I don’t think anyone’s going to miss the chance to see Oliver in something that isn’t the Arrow costume,” Felicity added. “You know we had to take him shopping for a tux?” Laurel laughed.

“God, you guys should hear about how many tuxes Oliver ruined in high school,” she said. Oliver raised his eyebrows at her.

“Okay, just for that, we’re working on full-body blows until ten.”

“What? Ollie-”

“Hey, you wanted to be a vigilante.”

“You suck.”

“Love you too, Laurel.”

Still bickering, Oliver and Laurel walked off to spar in the corner, Diggle going with them. Barry sat on Felicity’s desk. “Congratulations, you almost contained your thirst for Oliver. _Almost_.”

“Shut up!” Felicity said, glancing around at Oliver. “God, why am I even friends with you people?”

“We really like your latkes.”

“Then please take some, I really did make too many,” she said, gesturing to a plate of them on a dish. “Iris couldn’t even finish them, and she usually _loves_ my latkes.”

“Uh-huh,” Barry said noncommittally. Felicity peered at him.

“Barry,” she said slowly.

“Felicity…”

“What’s up?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I said Iris’ name and you got all weird.”

Barry shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Iris and I are fine. It’s fine.”

She stared at him for a second and then seemed to realise something. “Oh God, you got freaked out by Kyle, didn’t you?”

“No. Why would I get freaked out by Kyle?”

“Because you-” Felicity stopped when a series of beeps and klaxons came from the computer. The others raced back, immediately talking about contingency plans and points of entry. Oliver looked at him, in full Arrow mode. “Barry, you should-”

“Going,” he said quickly. He may have joked about it with Iris, but he didn’t have superpowers and had no desire to get attacked by one of Oliver’s many enemies. Felicity shot him an apologetic look even as she checked that everyone’s comms’ were working. “Sorry, Barry. We’ll talk, okay?”

“Sure,” he said easily. She bit her lip. “Don’t give up, okay?”

She turned back to her controls without saying anything else.

***

Iris West stared at her screen in disbelief.

She had just come back from a day of doing her True North thing, working on the case of the person who could apparently commit crimes disguised as other people. The thing with being a criminal psychologist was that you could generally guess at what crimes people were going to commit once you had a general pattern. Bored of her newspaper work, Iris spent her time going through the publicly available information about the man who had committed these crimes, as well as the tips she got on her blog. What she gathered was that this mystery man was mostly an opportunist, as opposed to planning a heist or robbery for months before making a big hit. What he tended to do instead was take an opportunity and steal things in small amounts. What Iris didn’t know was how he had framed several people who always proclaimed their innocence no matter what evidence was presented against them – like the fact that there was video footage of them committing said crime.

Until now.

Ironically, the thing that Iris was certain wouldn’t work was the thing that got her man, in the end (because now she knew for certain it was a man). So far, he’d stolen from Central City’s Royal Bank, Central City’s Art Museum, and several jewellers around the city. That left Central City’s History Museum, the Grand Bank of Central City, and all the rich people. She’d put hidden cameras in less conspicuous places around the first two (criminals always knew where the cameras where) because she thought he might do something that gave away his identity on a camera that he _wasn’t_ expecting, but the truth was that Iris wasn’t expecting anything to come out of it. She checked the camera dutifully, before she started getting ready for the dinner, and almost fell out of her chair.

Everyman – because that was what she’d decided to call him a whole twenty seconds ago – was a shapeshifter. As she watched, he’d touched someone’s shoulder and then _morphed_ into them a half second later. That was how the History Museum came to be robbed minutes later. She played the video again and again, hardly believing her eyes. This was like the guy who could split himself into multiple people – Multiple Man, that’s what she’d called him. Iris got up and flicked through her files, before skimming that file in particular.

It was becoming clear that Central City was quickly becoming home for the impossible happening there, and Iris seriously wanted to know where all of it was coming from. She didn’t know why, but she felt like these cases were somehow connected. Whatever it was, once she got this dinner and the STAR Labs story out of the way, she’d have time to investigate. As she put the file back, she caught sight of the picture of the little boy attached to the file marked ‘The Man in the Yellow Suit’. She closed the cabinet with determination, though she still hadn’t figured out who the kid was. This case would _not_ be that one.

“You know you don’t have to go to this, right?” Iris said, sitting on Linda’s bed about twenty minutes later. “I’m sure they won’t mind if you stay at home.”

Linda gave her an unimpressed look as she shimmied into her dress. “Sure, Iris. Skip the engagement dinner of the bomb expert who served in Afghanistan. Besides, I’m fine. Zip me up?”

Iris obliged. “Okay. But the minute you start to feel weird-”

“We will make the hastiest of getaways. Hey, where’s Felicity? I thought she was coming with us.”

Iris frowned – she’d thought the same thing, but then Felicity had mentioned that morning that they had a mission and that she’d just go with Oliver and the others. But then about five minutes before she got to Linda’s, she’d gotten a weird call from Felicity’s phone, and all she could hear was someone going ‘ _Wheeeeeee_!’. “She’s going with Oliver and Dig and Laurel, I guess they’re going to be late? We’ll call if we get there and don’t see them.” She stepped back from her friend and looked at them in the mirror. Iris was wearing a cream-coloured dress and had her hair softly curled, while Linda was in a red dress with her hair pinned in an up-do. Iris grinned appreciatively.

“We look hot.”

“That we do,” Linda agreed.

“Wally’s going to swallow his tongue when he sees you.” Linda blushed.

“Iris, quit it.”

“What?” Iris demanded. “You can tease me about Barry, but I can’t tease you about Wally?”

“He’s practically family.”

“Uh-huh,” she said. “Whatever you say, Lin-Lin. Come, we’re going to be late.”

One of the benefits of being friends with Oliver Queen was that he could get you the best of everything at short notice – and that included Italian restaurants. Iris and Linda weren’t the last ones to get there, to their surprise, but there were already a few people there when the doormen took their coats. Eddie and Bette were talking with Joe and Patty, and Cisco, Ronnie and Caitlin were already at the bar. Iris waved at the cop group – she knew but was trying to ignore the fact that she didn’t think she could talk to Patty – and went over to say hello to the others. “Wow,” she said, once they’d hugged and said hello, “you guys look amazing.”

“That suit looks good on you, Ramon,” Linda nodded. “Well done.”

“See?” Ronnie said. “Girls still think you’re hot.”

“Why wouldn’t people think Cisco’s hot?” Iris wanted to know.

“Kendra broke up with him,” Caitlin explained. “Which is her loss, of course, but Cisco’s taking it pretty hard.”

“She could have been the One,” he said wistfully. “Or at the very least, in the top five.”

“Don’t worry, Cisco, you’ll find someone better. Hey, anyone have any idea where I can dump this gift? It’s kind of heavy.”

“Through there,” Ronnie pointed her to a room off to the side next to a grand piano. Iris nodded and walked through the curtains to find a room with a large table that was already full of gifts. She walked around to the side, trying to find a place to put the 8-slice toaster she’d gotten them, and almost bumped into someone. “Sorry, I-”

“Iris!”

“B-Barry!” she said, her eyes widening at the sight of him. He had also dressed up for the occasion, but Iris thought that he looked way hotter than Cisco. He was in a fitted tux with a bowtie and cufflinks, with his hair styled in a way that just made her want to reach up and run her hands through it. She also really wanted to stoke his cleanly-shaven jaw. And she had this ridiculous urge to climb him like a tree and…She shook her head, realising that she was staring, and smiled. “You look nice.”

Barry swallowed, looking at her, and nodded. “T-Thanks. So do you, I mean, that dress, it’s, uh…You look really nice.”

“Thanks. So, what’d you get them?”

“A blender,” he said, looking around at the gifts. “I kind of lost the list they sent out, so I hope they don’t already have one.”

Iris laughed. “Barry.”

“What? Those wedding registration thingies are weird.”

“Not the biggest fan of them myself. The last time I went to a wedding, I ended up buying three blenders and it wasn’t even on their list.”

Barry laughed. “Well, I guess everyone needs a blender.” He paused. “So, uh…How’s Lyle?”

“Kyle,” Iris corrected. “Um. Fine, I guess. I haven’t actually talked to him since last week.

“Oh. Well, he seems…nice. I’m really happy for you.”

She frowned up at him. Why would Barry be _happy_ for her? “What – What do you mean by-”

“Iris! _Barry_! You guys are here!”

Both of them turned to see a very excited Felicity race up and hug them both, her blue eyes shining behind her glasses and a wide grin on her face. “Hi, Felicity,” Barry said uncertainly. “You okay?”

“I’m _great_! We found the drug place! I mean, he wasn’t there, and Oliver was upset.” Her face fell. “But we destroyed it! Yay!”

Iris frowned and then Oliver and Laurel came in, identical worried looks on their faces. “I knew it,” he said. “She’s been acting weird since we got back.”

“What happened?” Barry asked.

“We went to go bust the drug den, but it was abandoned. We destroyed it and took samples, but then we realised that they booby-trapped the place. We were all wearing masks, but-”

“Felicity wasn’t,” Iris finished. Felicity was now toying with the presents, tying the ribbons around her fingers. “Was it poisonous?”

“Not that we can tell,” Laurel said. “Just makes her a little…well, you know. And she has bouts of normalcy. You think we should just get her some coffee? Sober her up?”

“Yes!” Felicity answered. “Coffee! Coffee is good! I’ll be great after coffee.”

“Besides, Caitlin’s here and she’s a doctor,” Iris added. “If anything goes wrong, she can help.”

“Great,” Oliver nodded. “I’ll get her some right now.”

“You guys look nice,” Laurel said as Oliver walked off.

“Thanks,” they said together, and then looked at each other, embarrassed.

“Oh, you meant-” Iris stammered, gesturing to Barry.

“Of course, you meant-” Barry said at the same time. Laurel’s eyes slid between the two of them, and Felicity giggled.

“Guys,” she whispered conspiratorially. “I’m wearing Princess Peach underwear.”

***

Thankfully Felicity had sobered up some by the time everyone sat down to dinner, but they were still on the lookout for other outbursts. Barry was sat between Patty and Cisco on the long table, and because someone hated him he was sat right across from Iris, who was between Linda and Wally. Eddie and Bette were at the head of the table, standing up to make a speech before the dinner began.

“We just want to say,” he started, raising his glass, “we really appreciate everyone being able to make it today. I know everyone has had some crazy things going on in their lives, but it means a lot that you were able to take the time out of it to join us. And not least because I know where you all live and fiancée is in the army.”

Everyone laughed as they raised their glasses, and then the waiters brought out the starters. Barry watched as Iris looked at her plate with pleasant surprise. “This looks awesome, what is it? I can’t even remember what I ordered.”

“Uh,” Barry said, “that’s because I ordered it for you, remember? Eddie couldn’t find you to do the menus…”

“Right,” she said quietly. “Well, it looks great.”

“So, Barry, what’s this I hear about nuns at the Sun Dial Church?” Linda asked.

“Yeah, that case keeps getting weirder and weirder,” Wally added.

“We’re not supposed to tell you,” Barry laughed. “It’s an ongoing investigation! Besides, I’m just a CSI, I don’t know anything.”

“I don’t know, Barry,” Patty said playfully. “We’re in your lab an awful lot talking about the case.”

“Yeah, and then all of these guys demand to know everything. I have student loans to pay; I can’t afford to get fired.”

“You could work for Oliver!” Felicity said excitedly. She was obviously having a crazy moment. “You know, for when he does his-”

“Felicity, do you want some of my soup?” Laurel interrupted. “It’s tomato, your favourite.”

“Yum!”

“Ahem, how’s the article going, guys?” Caitlin asked. “It must be almost done, right?” Barry and Iris looked at each other.

“Great,” Iris said. “We should be done in a couple of weeks. Actually, I wanted to come interview you guys for it.”

“Heart of STAR Labs, baby,” Cisco added between bites of his gnocchi.

“Right,” Iris laughed. “You because you’re a doctor, Caitlin, Barry because he’s a volunteer, and you two because you’re structural engineers. And Dr Wells.”

“That might be hard,” Ronnie said. “He’s been really busy the last few weeks, what with the Accelerator being turned on soon. But we can try.”

“Thanks,” she replied. “God, it’s going to be weird not taking about science all day.”

Wally snorted. “What, you think Barry’s just going to stop talking about science just because you’re not asking him about it? He loves dumb science jokes.”

“Hey!”

“I mean, he’s right,” Cisco shrugged. “They’re not funny.”

“I’m sitting right here,” Barry complained. “Do you people not see me?”

“Don’t worry, Barry,” Patty told him. “I think your jokes are funny.”

“Thanks, Patty,” Barry said. He made a face at Cisco, who made one back. Linda looked at Iris, who was concentrating on her starter, and cleared her throat.

“You think of anyone to dedicate the article to, ladybird? You could dedicate it to the STAR Labs crew.”

“Because of our outstanding contribution to science?” Cisco asked.

“No, because Caitlin taught me how to make a White Russian.”

“That’s what happens your mother is a socialite,” Caitlin pointed out. Iris frowned.

“Is that why my pancakes tasted like vodka last week?”

“…yeah, that wasn’t milk, Iris.”

“Oh well, they were good. Oh! Okay, that might explain why I was so huggy at work the next day.”

“Oh yeah, blame it on the alcohol, Iris,” Eddie said. “Hands up, who’s been personally assaulted by one of Iris’ hugs?”

Iris glared around at everyone as they raised their hands. “I’m going to remember this for when I’m figuring out who dedicate my next Pulitzer to, you know.”

“It’s not like we’re complaining, Iris,” Felicity said cheerfully. “Hugs mean love.”

“Maybe I’ll dedicate the article to you, pretty girl.” Right then, her phone buzzed in her purse.

You give good hugs

She looked up at Barry, but he was talking with Joe and Patty about the History Museum robbery. So she fired off a text and put the phone back in her purse.

 _Thanks. You too_.

Barry didn’t say anything, but he was smiling a little more after he glanced at his phone. The rest of the starter continued like that, with everyone making conversation and talking about work and the crazy things they’d learned on the news. Iris sometimes found herself looking at Barry when she knew she shouldn’t have, but she noticed that even though Patty was definitely interested in Barry and they were flirting rather shamelessly, he kept sneaking glances at her as well. And every time he did, electricity danced across her skin.

“Linda, are you still working on your story?” Joe called from his end of the table about halfway through the main course. She beamed at him.

“Damn right I am. Mason says we’re allowed to run it before Christmas.”

“You might not be the only Pulitzer-winner at this table, ladybird,” Wally said, nudging her.

“Maybe one of us will eventually win one without having to end up in the hospital first,” she muttered to Linda, who laughed.

“Hey, where’s Captain Singh?” Barry asked. “Isn’t he supposed to be here?”

“His boyfriend is sick, he’s looking after him.”

“God, they’re the cutest couple,” Patty told them. “I think they’re the ones who are getting married next.”

Barry looked at Iris and she frowned at him. Wally cleared his throat. “You think so? Captain Singh doesn’t seem the type to get married.”

“Well, when you meet someone you want to spend the rest of your life with, sometimes people change,” Joe shrugged. Laurel poked Diggle in the arm and sneakily pointed at Oliver, who was looking wistfully at a very cheerful Felicity cutting up her chicken into tiny pieces. Iris and Barry noticed and smiled, and then looked at each other before looking away.

“That’s what I thought before I met your mother, anyway.”

“Dad, no,” Iris begged. “None of us are wearing waterproof makeup.”

“Don’t worry, I can make you all cry another time with a good story.”

“Stories!” Felicity clapped happily. “Did we tell you about the time Iris and Linda and me met this guy called Miguel and-”

“ _Hoboken rules_!” Linda and Iris said together. She gasped.

“Hoboken rules! Everyone, _shhhh_.”

“Felicity, are you okay?” Patty asked.

“She’s just a little overworked,” Oliver said. “Why don’t we get you another coffee?”

“Okay!”

Thankfully, the rest of the main course continued without incident, but Iris kept noticing that Barry kept looking at her weird. “I’m going to go to the bathroom,” Iris said, standing up. Linda sensed the tone and followed. “I need to go take a pain pill anyway.”

“You okay, Linda?” Wally asked. She smiled.

“I’m good, Wally, thanks.”

“If it gets bad, let me know,” Caitlin added.

“You know what?” Bette said. “I have to go too.”

Once they were all in the fancy bathrooms – and Bette really did need to powder her nose – Linda turned to Iris. “So, I see you and Barry are back to making eyes at each other.”

“He’s so _weird_ ,” she said. “He didn’t talk to me all week and now it’s almost like we’re back to normal.”

“Yeah, do either of you want to tell me why Eddie made such a big deal about sitting Barry with Patty when it’s pretty clear he likes you?” Bette asked. “ _And_ why he was so obsessed with inviting Kyle?”

“He thinks we’re getting back together – we’re not, by the way. In case you think ours is the next wedding you’re getting invited to.”

Linda’s eyes widened. “Oh, God.”

Iris frowned. “What?”

“Okay. Okay, don’t be mad.”

Right then, Laurel walked in, a lipstick in her hand. “So when are Barry and Iris going to hook up? He’s been looking at her like he wants to lick hot fudge off her body.”

“Right?” Bette agreed.

“Linda, why shouldn’t I be mad?”

“W-Well, Kyle showed up at the hospital,” Linda said uncertainly. “And you left with him. And obviously we all started talking about why he was there, and we mentioned the ring.”

“Right…”

“And Eddie thought that you would say yes if he proposed because of how much you loved him. And Barry-”

“You didn’t.”

“It was an accident.”

“ _You told Barry that Kyle wants to marry me_?” Iris demanded. “And that I would say _yes_?”

“Oh, this just got a lot better,” Bette muttered to Laurel.

“In my defence, it was Eddie, and you guys did date for three years,” Linda pointed out. “But, um, maybe that’s why he’s being weird. Because he thinks you’re going to marry Kyle.”

“Well, then why is he flirting with Patty?”

“Because, Iris, the two of your are the most talented I’ve ever seen at denying your own feelings. I mean, you already had sex-”

“Linda!”

Bette and Laurel’s eyebrows went up in unison. “You _already_ had sex?”

“Sorry,” Linda said. “Uh, these pills make me kind of loopy. But you two have been making puppy dog eyes at each other all night, and-”

“Um, guys?” Caitlin popped her head around the door. “I think you may want to come back out here.”

“Why?” Iris asked. “Are you guys reading my diary out there, too?”

“Well, no, but Felicity’s gone off the deep end again, and she keeps trying to tell Barry a story about you and baguettes and bagels, Iris.”

“Oh,” Iris breathed, looking at Linda. “Oh, _crap_.”

***

Barry Allen’s night could have been going a lot better than it was.

He was fine. He was doing fine. He was going to go his friend’s dinner and he would have a good time and it would be great.

And then Iris turned up in that stupid cream dress and he’d lost the ability to breathe.

Barry thought that he could do it, that they could be friends, but then they’d sat through that dinner and he just couldn’t stop looking at her or laughing with her or missing her even though they were only separated by a few candles and a plate of breadsticks (that Cisco kept hogging). Even Patty, who he’d realised was lovely and adorable and exactly the kind of person he could see himself with, couldn’t distract him.

This was all hitting Barry before the dessert course while everyone had meandered off for a little while while he sat at the bar. Half of the women had run off to the bathroom, Patty, Joe and Eddie were talking at the table, Oliver had gone off to make a call. Barry had drained his whiskey and was about to order another when Felicity bounded up to him. “Hey, Barry.”

“Felicity,” he said, amused. “You feeling okay?”

“I feel great. I wanted to finish our talk.”

“Felicity-”

“No, Barry. I know you’re all sad-face because you love Iris and she doesn’t love you.”

Barry blinked. “I’m not in love with Iris, Felicity. Don’t tell her that.”

“Oh, Barry. You _looooove_ her. You love her like I love Oliver.”

“Oh, jeez,” he said. “I think you need more coffee.” She huffed, frustrated.

“No, it’s – Okay, so you know how you can go your whole life loving bagels?”

“Yeah…”

“Well, sometimes, you see something else, like a baguette. And it doesn’t matter how much you loved bagels before, or how devoted you where to the bagel, or how much the bagel loved _you_. Sometimes you want a baguette.” She paused. “Iris liked bagels. Now, she wants a baguette.”

Barry stared at her. “Okay, um, Felicity? What does that have to do with me?”

“Duh, Barry, baguettes! _Baguettes_!”

“Okay!” Linda appeared out of nowhere, pulling her friend by the waist. “Come on, pretty girl.”

“But I was telling Barry about the baguettes!”

“You can tell him later,” she said. “Sorry, Barry.”

“No problem.”

Everyone started to make their way back to their seats as the dessert course was announced, and Barry tried not to stare at Iris in the dress again. “Careful with that, ladybird,” Wally said, gesturing to the brownie on her plate. “You remember the time you ate a whole plate before you went on a rollercoaster at Disneyland?” Iris looked at her brother.

“You want to start telling stories? Two words. _Strawberry milkshake_.”

“Ooh, that’s a good story,” Linda said, digging into her raspberry cheesecake.

“You know, I’m good,” Wally said.

“That’s what I thought.”

“That looks really good, Barry,” Patty said to him, gesturing to his plate. “What is it?”

“Uh…a cinnamon maple pecan dessert focaccia,” he said, quoting from the menu. “You want to try some?”

“Sure!”

But Patty never got to try any of Barry’s focaccia, because the lights in the restaurant cut out. Within seconds everyone had the torches on their phones on. “Sorry, everyone,” Oliver apologised. “Apparently this is a frequent problem with this place.”

“Oliver?” Diggle asked, flashing the torch towards him. “You know where the circuit breakers are?”

“I do, in the back up one of the ladders, but I’m not an electrical expert. Anything I do would likely electrocute us all.”

“Well, what about Felicity?” Ronnie suggested.

“ _Wheeee_! Are we playing a game?” Felicity squealed. “Is it a murder mystery?”

“I can do it,” Wally said, standing up. “I do this kind of thing all the time at school.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. Barry can help me.”

“I don’t know that I’d be that much help…”

“I need someone tall to hold the torch while I work, so you’d be a big help.”

Once they were in the room, Barry started looking around for the ladder. “It must be around here – _Ow_! God, does everyone enjoy hitting me or something?”

“What the hell are you doing?” he demanded. “You’re supposed to be with my sister!”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the fact that you’ve been mooning after her since you guys first met, but if you keep ignoring her you’re not going to get very far.”

Barry just laughed, because apparently his feelings for Iris were obvious to everyone but her. “She’s getting back with Kyle. Eddie keeps going on about how perfect they are.”

“Eddie is one of my oldest friends and I love him like a brother. But he also has love goggles on.”

“Love goggles?”

“He’s so happy to be marrying the love of his life that he wants everyone else to find love too. When he met Bette he tried to set me up with his cousin, and when he got engaged he did the same thing with his neighbour’s dog-walker. If he weren’t so concerned with Iris being happy then he’d use his detective skills and figure out that you two idiots can’t stop looking at each other.”

“I’m guessing you didn’t appreciate that,” Barry said, “since you’re in love with Linda.”

Wally’s scowl was a little funny in the torchlight of an iPhone. “We’re not talking about me, we’re talking about you. Because I swear, Barry, if I end up with that stick in the mud stockbroker as a brother-in-law because you couldn’t get your head out of your ass, I’m gonna smack you into next week.”

“Okay, Wally, I hear you.”

Once they’d got the lights back on, Wally made no reference to the conversation they’d had. If it weren’t for the fact that his arm still hurt from when he hit him, he would have thought he imagined it.

“So, I had an idea,” Diggle told them. “Iris, why don’t you dedicate your article to Barry? He did help you write some of it.”

“Half of it,” she admitted. “All that science stuff is pretty much Barry.”

“But you’re the one who actually made it make sense,” he pointed out. “All my notes are gibberish.”

“Well, he’s not _wrong_.”

“Excuse me,” Linda exclaimed. “Who’s the one who’s proofread every article since we were in high school? You think I actually know how the Higgs field relates to the Higgs boson?”

“It’s the quantum excitation,” Patty and Barry said together. Barry gave her an appreciative look. “I didn’t know you were interested in nuclear physics.”

“I found a book about it on your desk,” she shrugged. “Thought it might be a fun topic for some afternoon reading.”

“You two are so cute,” Felicity said slowly, examining her cheesecake. “Like two nerdy pods on a pill.”

Everyone just looked at her, before Cisco cleared his throat. “Well, cuter than the last couple Barry was in.”

Caitlin snorted. “Anything is cuter than Becky Cooper.”

“ _You dated Becky Cooper_?” Iris, Linda and Wally demanded.

“You dated Becky Cooper?” Felicity said. “Oh no. She’s the worst.”

“Oh, boy,” Eddie and Joe muttered.

Barry looked between the three incredulous faces across from him nervously. “Who’s Becky Cooper?” Patty asked.

“Iris’ arch nemesis from high school,” Wally answered.

“Arch nemesis?” Oliver asked. “Really?”

“Didn’t you have one?”

“Not in high school. I mean, now I guess it would be Bruce Wayne.”

“Jake Puckett,” Cisco said.

“Lexi La Roche,” Caitlin added.

“Chester Krull,” Barry admitted.

“Tony Woodward,” Eddie said.

“Lucy Lane,” Laurel added.

“Hartley Rathaway,” Wally finished, and everyone from STAR Labs looked at him.

“Seriously?” Ronnie asked.

“Yeah, Wally went to high school with him,” Iris told them. “They hated each other.”

“Okay, Wally’s good people,” Cisco declared. “He’s obviously got good taste.”

“You know, it’s a good thing you guys met after you and Becky broke up, Barry,” Wally said thoughtfully. “Otherwise Iris would have had to find another pyramid to push her off.”

“I mean, she fell,” Iris pointed out. “I didn’t push her.”

“You’re not in front of the school principal, Iris,” Joe said, amused. “You can admit it.”

“She did get her back with that pie,” Linda said.

“That was hilarious,” Eddie laughed.

“It was not,” Iris complained. “My hair smelled like vanilla for a week.”

“Well, if she did that to you I’m glad I broke up with her” Barry said absently. “Can’t be with someone who put a pie in my friend’s hair.”

Iris smiled at him. “Maybe I will dedicate the article to you, Barry.”

Wally smiled into his wine and Felicity went, “Pie! Can we have pie?”

It was towards the end of the night, when everyone was winding down and Bette had made another speech, that someone suggested that Joe sing. “Your voice is awesome, dad,” Wally said proudly. “Perfect way to end the night.”

“Please, Joe?” Bette begged. “It would be a great gift.”

“I mean, what would I sing?”

“How about L.O.V.E.?” Caitlin suggested. “Cisco knows that on the piano, and there’s one right over there.”

“She’s right,” Cisco said, wiggling his fingers. “Out of this world, like I always say.”

After everyone begged him and they promised him a bottle of whiskey for his trouble, Joe went to warm-up with Cisco, and on the first notes of the song Eddie pulled up Bette to go dance with her.

_L is for the way you look at me_

_O is for the only one I see_

_V is very very, extraordinary_

_E is even more than anyone that you adore_

Linda laid her head on Iris’ shoulder, grinning at their two friends, and Laurel linked her arm with Diggle’s and sighed. Then Caitlin and Ronnie grinned at each other and went to join them. Patty looked at Barry. “You wanna dance?”

“S-Sure.”

Wally looked at Iris. “Come on, ladybird. We had ten years of dancing lessons, let’s show them how it’s done.” Iris noticed, however, that Wally was shooting someone a glare half the time they were dancing, and she knew that she was steadfastly avoiding the sight of Barry and Patty dancing together. Or trying, at least. She wasn’t quite managing it.

“Okay,” Linda said from across the room. She fixed her dress. “This is ridiculous. They’re being ridiculous. I’m going to go dance with Wally. Oliver, go and dance with Patty.”

“Why?”

“Because I have never seen a more perfect pair of idiots in my life than Barry and Iris, that’s why. When you come back, you can dance with Felicity.”

“Yay!”

_And love is all that I can give to you_

_Love is more than just a game for two_

_Two in love can make it_

_Take my heart and please don’t break it_

_Love was made for me and you_

So that was why Barry found himself standing idly on the dance floor about five seconds later. He was about to go sit down when he spotted Iris. “There’s nothing quite like having your dance partner stolen by Oliver Queen,” he said ruefully.

“Try being dumped by your brother for your best friend,” she laughed. “Um, I was gonna sit down, unless – I mean, you wanna dance?”

“I literally just told Patty I can’t dance,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “But we can sway around the floor for a while.”

“Okay,” she said quietly, smiling. “Swaying is good.”

Barry put hand on her waist and took her other one – the hand on her waist was shaking slightly, but that was okay because she was pretty sure her entire body was shaking, and they swayed. She wanted to talk to him – ask him about Patty, how he felt about her, why hearing about Kyle would make him not talk to her for a week. But she couldn’t, because she was afraid of the wrong answer, the answer that would make it very hard to deal with the fact that the way he was looking at her right now, with his face flushed and his mouth slightly open and his eyes fixed carefully on hers as they moved – _swayed_ – around the room, made her feel…Naked. Despite the sex, she’d never felt more naked than she did standing in front of Barry Allen with him looking at her like that. Barry felt much the same way, wanting to ask about all the times she was there for him and hugged him and looked at him like he was the most brilliant person ever to have been born. But if he did, he might ruin this moment. This perfect moment where she was in his arms and holding him and trusting him.

_L is for the way you look at me_

_O is for the only one I see_

_V is very very, extraordinary_

_E is even more than anyone that you adore_

Neither of them wanted to ruin it.

_And love is all that I can give to you_

_Love is more than just a game for two_

_Two in love can make it_

_Take my heart and please don’t break it_

_Love was made for me and you_

_Love was made for me and you_

_Love was made for me and you_

So they didn’t say anything at all.

They didn’t notice that the world around them existed until the song stopped and everyone broke into applause for Joe, shattering the illusion. That was when they noticed Oliver trying to lead Felicity, who was trying to lead him, Eddie with Linda, Bette with Wally, Diggle with Laurel, Patty with Ronnie, and Caitlin chatting with Cisco. It wasn’t until two more songs – ‘My Funny Valentine’ and ‘Who Knows Where or When’, during which Iris and Barry absolutely did not dance with each other because they were afraid they’d explode – that they all said goodbye and hugged Eddie and Bette that Iris sat in her car with Linda.

“Linda.”

“Yep?”

“Barry and I aren’t just friends, are we?”

“Nope.”

“I’m in love with him, aren’t I?”

“Glad to see you’re where the rest of us are.”

“Oh, God,” she breathed. “I’m screwed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so Iris knows, now for Barry...thanks for reading, liking and commenting!


	16. Bagel, Baguette, and Detective Pretty Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Iris West talks to some of her men and loses her carefully cultivated chill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how late this is! I've been really busy. So some of you might not have heard me say this, but I'm also on tumblr as minute42, so if you want to talk about this fic or whatever feel free! I hope you like this chapter! When texting, Iris is in italics, Felicity is in bold, and Linda is bold and underlined.

_I’m in love with Barry_.

It didn’t make her any less nervous, even though she was beginning to suspect it had been true for a while.

Iris glanced at the time in the corner of her MacBook’s screen as she sat in Jitters waiting for Kyle to turn up. She was an hour early, but she had been way too jumpy at work to concentrate, so Mason let her leave early. Now she was jumping around her work – Particle Accelerator article, random articles that she was writing with the help of the interns as researchers, and True North stuff.

Everyman was becoming the most anticipated reveal of her blog. Every few hours, she’d get a message from one of her followers asking for information about him (none from the Scientist, unfortunately), or whether she was investigating him, or whether she knew where he was going to strike next. She was working as fast as she could, but with everything that was going on she couldn’t find the time to catch up with all the work she’d missed while she was out investigating. And every time she tried to concentrate, that thought would pop back into her head.

 _I’m in love with Barry_.

Oh, it was definitely _true_ , she had no doubt about that. It certainly explained why she hadn’t thought of anything but Barry in that stupid tux ever since last night, why he was the one she always wanted to talk to whenever something happened in her life, and why she was sitting here waiting for Kyle thinking that she was cheating on Barry just by meeting him for lunch. Because she was in _love_ with _Barry_.

Maybe it happened when he came over for dinner and she ended up stroking his hair in her kitchen. Or when she went over to his house the night of the anniversary of his mother’s death and stayed with him until he fell asleep. Or maybe it was when they all went to that karaoke bar and he sang to them and every time he looked at her she felt like she was made of lightning.

Fuck. Okay, it was definitely the singing.

Iris hadn’t texted or called Barry since the dinner the night before, afraid that she would say something stupid. She had no idea how he felt. Everyone _else_ said they could see it, sure, but she was pretty certain that Barry was looking at her the same way he always did. Plus, Eddie thought he was into Patty, which certainly explained why they’d been flirting all night. Honestly, this whole being in love thing was much more complicated than it was on television. Every time she picked up her phone to text him, she got this jittery feeling in her stomach and she threw the phone back down like it had scalded her.

** Have you told him yet? **

_Told who what?_

** Told Mason that you’re Catwoman and you’re taking CCPN hostage. What do you think, ladybird? Have you told Barry that you loooooove him? **

Iris rolled her eyes at the iMessages as they popped up on her computer. She had been texting Linda and Felicity all morning, but they weren’t being as much help as she hoped they would.

_How am I supposed to tell him that?_

**You could try talking to him.**

_And say what?_

** Climb into his lap and see if the baguette gets baked **

_YOU’RE NOT HELPING_

** Yes I am. If Felicity had managed to talk to Oliver last night they’d be baking together right now **

**God, why didn’t you guys stop me?**

_We tried!_

** Well, they tried. I thought it was funny **

_Do you have any idea how many times I had to stop you from dancing on the table? And what did you say to Barry?_

**I don’t remember, all I remember is coffee and tomato soup**

** You have to admit that part was hilarious **

**OH GOD**

** What **

_What is it Felicity?_

**I FOUND ALL THE TEXT MESSAGES I SENT LAST NIGHT AND OH GOD**

_Maybe we should have taken her phone away from her_

** Maybe YOU should have tried to take her phone away from her – she tried to bite me last night **

**I TOLD OLIVER I WANTED TO NETFLIX AND CHILL**

_Seriously?_

** bwahahahha this is glorious **

**NETFLIX**

**AND**

**CHILL**

_Oh god_

_Are you sure?_

**IT’S JUST TEN MESSAGES THAT SAY ‘NETFLIX AND CHILL’**

** Do you think you’ll get married before Barry and Iris? **

_Linda, shut up_

_And Oliver doesn’t even know what Netflix and chill means_

** He probably thinks it’s when you watch movies together and hang out **

** You know, being stranded on an island for five years and all probably killed his sense of humour **

Iris stared at her computer screen in shock.

**What are you talking about?**

** I’m talking about the message I got from you saying that Oliver’s the Arrow **

**Oh god I’m so getting fired**

**He’s going to kill me**

_He’s not going to kill you_

_He might kill Linda._

** Hey! **

_Kidding._

_Felicity, Oliver may be the Arrow, but he’s not that smart. Just say it was a joke and that you were high. And none of you are helping me_

“Iris?”

She looked up to see the familiar figure of Kyle appear above her, smiling, and she smiled back. _I’m in love with Barry_.

Oh, fuck. She was going to have to keep that one to herself. “Hi, Kyle. Good to see you.”

“You too,” he replied, draping his coat on the back of his chair and sitting down. “I hope you weren’t waiting long.”

“Nope, not at all,” she laughed, pushing it to the side of the table. Though she’d muted it, messages kept popping up in the sidebar. “I was just getting on with some work – I had a lot of catch up on what with Linda in the hospital and taking on some of her workload.”

** Are you gonna go bake baguettes with Oliver? **

**Linda stop it**

Kyle nodded, sighing ruefully at her laptop. “You never stop, do you?”

“Not until I’m old and grey.”

**Besides baguette belongs with Iris**

They laughed and ordered food, making small-talk before the meal came, but then Iris couldn’t take the suspense. “So, um, what was it that you wanted to tell me? I mean, give me?”

He sighed. “It’s a long story.”

“Because, um, I don’t know if you talked - talked to Eddie or Linda or my dad, but um, whatever they told you, it-”

“Iris.” Kyle interrupted. “Are you alright?”

 _I’m in love with Barry, is what I am_ , she thought, but she didn’t say that. “F-Fine. I’m fine. I just didn’t want there to be anything complicated between us, after we broke up on such good terms-”

“Oh God,” he interrupted again. “You…You found the ring, didn’t you? Before you left?”

Her stomach plummeted. So much for being subtle. She swallowed, fiddling with her napkin. “I…Yeah.”

“And that’s why you left.”

“Kyle, I’m so sorry, I…”

He held up a hand to stop her, his expression unreadable. “No, it’s okay. That actually…Iris, did you know I hate bowties?”

She blinked at him, taken aback at the sudden change. “I – What?”

“Did you know that I hate bowties?”

“No, you don’t,” she frowned in confusion. “You love bowties.”

“ _You_ love bowties; I can’t stand them.”

“But I got you a bowtie for your birthday and for Christmas every year!” she said. “You said you loved them.”

“Yes, Iris,” he sighed. “Because you were my girlfriend and you liked them. Just like you always pretended that you loved learning about stockbroking and that you didn’t hate it when we went out for my firm’s annual meal at Sal’s Seafood.” Iris opened her mouth to deny it, but then closed it at his sad, understanding smile.

**Okay, so he’s not hinting at anything in our text messages**

** I don’t know if you know this pretty girl, but your man doesn’t know how to ‘hint’. Try asking Laurel **

“Guess I didn’t hide it that well, huh? I just…I didn’t want to hurt you. And I ended up doing it anyway.”

“A little,” he shrugged lightly. At her look, he laughed. “Okay, maybe more than a little.”

“Did you come all the way from Gotham to tell me that?”

“No, I…After you broke up with me, I admit I was mad. And I didn’t want to see you. But then after a while, I realised that I wasn’t as mad as I thought I’d be. Or should have been, I guess.”

She frowned. “Should have been?”

“Iris, you know that I loved you. But I feel like half of the things that we did, we did it because that’s what we were supposed to do when you’re in a relationship. We moved in together because we’d been together for a year, and I bought that ring because that was the next step. And I’m not saying that I regret our relationship or that I’d change anything, but do you ever think that sometimes, with us, there was a kind of…Like a…”

“Ceiling?” Iris supplied quietly. He blinked at her and then his face cleared. “Like you didn’t want to tell the other person things in case we broke it.”

“Yeah,” he said. “And we were so good together, I didn’t want to ruin it.”

Iris resisted the urge to laugh. Wasn’t this ironic. “So why are you telling me this now?”

“Because I know you, Iris. I know that you thought that everything was your fault and that you would blame yourself, but I needed you to know that you’re not the only one who felt that way. You’re not the only one who hid parts of yourself away. And I’m telling you this now…” He sighed. “Because I have to give you something, but I have to tell you something first, and I don’t want you to feel guilty when you hear it.”

She frowned, placing her fork back next to her lasagne. Next to her, the computer flashed with another set of messages.

**Okay so I’m getting out of bed**

** Felicity it’s lunch time why are you still in bed **

**Because I was on drugs last night and I don’t know if I have a job. No one can get me in my bed**

“When I hear what?”

“That I know you’re True North.”

Iris’ stomach dropped out of her body and she stared at him. That was, without a doubt, the last thing she had expected to come out of Kyle’s mouth. “It – You know – I’m – Kyle, I – _what_?”

He laughed. “I thought that would be what you’d say. I’m guessing you want to know how I found out?”

Iris nodded mutely. She had made her peace that she probably couldn’t ever tell Kyle that she was True North in the first year that they were dating, so she certainly hadn’t been expecting for him to fly all the way across the country to tell her that he’d found out anyway.

“In my defence, I wasn’t snooping and I wasn’t really expecting it. I was working from home and someone knocked on the door to the apartment, which is weird because-”

“We had a doorman,” Iris remembered.

“Right,” he nodded. “So even though we lived in the nice part of Gotham, it’s still _Gotham_ , so I’m a little apprehensive. But then I opened the door and…it was Harley.”

“H-Harley?” Iris spluttered. “Harley _Quinzel_? Dawn’s sister?”

“Uh-huh,” Kyle replied. “She’s blonde now and she dresses a little different, but it was Harley.”

“So she’s…She’s out of the asylum?”

“Apparently.”

Iris sat back, lost in thought. After Dawn had gone missing and the stress of her job, Harley had taken leave from the asylum. Then after the funeral, she’d had a nervous breakdown and did…things that meant that she’d ended up committed to the asylum instead. That was the last Iris had heard from her before she moved – she assumed that Harley was still there. “What was she doing there?”

“She came to see you,” he replied, reaching into his jacket. “She wanted to talk to you, but I guess she must have found out that we broke up and you moved, so she had a letter instead. She asked me to mail it to you, that it was about her sister and what had been going on with her. And then she said that if you ever got into trouble with what she called your ‘extra-curriculars’ while you were in Gotham, you could contact her by leaving a picture of _this_ on your blog.”

**You guys Oliver left a bag of snacks outside my room with a note that says ‘how about tonight’**

** So he really wants to Netflix and chill my god men are idiots **

Iris frowned as he handed her what looked like a playing card, but one she couldn’t recognise right away. It wasn’t one of the normal deck… ”It’s a harlequin. Like her name, but what – what does she mean?”

But Kyle shrugged helplessly. “I have no idea, Iris. She just told me to give that to you. And then I asked her what she meant by extra-curriculars and the blog, and then she told me.” He shrugged. “I always thought you really liked True North – I just had no idea that it was you.”

“God, Kyle,” she breathed, dropping the card. “I’m sorry, I am so sorry, I-”

“Iris, please stop apologising. Like I said, we both kept parts of ourselves from each other, and that probably was a sign that we weren’t really meant for each other.” He paused and reached into his briefcase. “Anyway, that’s why I came, to give you that card and this letter. Harley wanted me to mail it to you, but I figured that it would be best to give it to you in person if it was about Dawn. I know how much you loved her.”

She blinked and nodded, and tears that she didn’t know she had spilled on her cheeks. She could smell the faint aroma of lavender on the letter as she opened it; Dawn had always talked about how she never wore anything else. “Do you mind if I…”

“Not at all, take your time,” Kyle replied easily. “Uh, I can go make a call, if you want to be alone.”

She smiled gratefully at him. “Thanks.” And after he got up and walked away – and Iris took another sip of her wine to calm her nerves – she began to read:

_Hey ladybird,_

_God, it’s been years since I’ve called you that, let alone seen you. How are you? How’s your life? My mother told me that you moved and I would come and see you, but my life has kind of taken a different turn and I don’t think it would be best. At least, not right now. Just know that I hope you’re good, and I’m glad you and Kyle still seem to be friends._

_You’re probably wondering why I’m writing to you. Actually, you’re probably wondering a lot of things about me. If I’m remembering right, the last time you saw me was at the funeral, and we both know it wasn’t my best appearance_.

Iris remembered. She had been there with Linda and Felicity and her father when they had laid Dawn to rest, surrounded by her family and friends and some of the people they knew from college. It had been an odd day – Iris supposed that all funerals felt a little surreal – and everyone was waiting for that fateful moment when they’d have to put Dawn in the ground. But as soon as they had prepared to do it, and Harley was called on to drop the first clod of dirt on her little sister’s coffin, that was when she snapped. Nobody was surprised, given the year that she’d had with the patient that everyone called ‘the Joker’, but her parents hadn’t noticed that the calm that Harley was displaying hadn’t quite reached her eyes, which were manic and devastated. Harley started screaming, first at the coffin, then at the vicar, and then at her parents. Finally, she away from the funeral procession before anyone could stop her and ended up setting fire to three of the funeral limos parked on the street.

The last time Iris had seen her, she was being dragged into a psychiatric transportation van. Still screaming.

_But I’m out now, as you can tell, and I just wanted to thank you. For being my sister’s friend, for always supporting her even though my family always complained that she wasn’t like me (which I’m sure they’re regretting now), and for being the one to fight for her when no one else would. I don’t think you’ll ever know how much it meant to me._

_Like I said, my life’s taken a very different turn than what I expected, so I’ll probably be very hard to find. And you may not want to be associated with me. But I’m giving Kyle something to give to you – hopefully, if need any help or you need to contact me, that should help. And don’t worry about having to worry about anyone who might be upset about your activities. I know you probably don’t like playing by ‘Gotham Rules’, but I have a friend who’s more than willing, and I think I can keep you out of all that. Your blog is awesome, by the way. If you ever decide to come out, so to speak, know you’ve got at least one fan._

_All the best,_

_Harley Quinn x_

Iris read the letter twice more, wiping the tears from her eyes, before sitting back to think. She hadn’t realised how much it would hurt to hear from Harley after all this time, but it was bittersweet, because she was happy to know that she was alright. Why she was being so mysterious about what she was doing right now Iris had no idea, but she figured that the woman had a right to do so after the hellish few years she’d had. The man they’d called the Joker had slowly destroyed her sanity from when she was an intern when Iris and Dawn were freshmen in college to the year before Dawn had died, so Iris was happy that at least she’d managed to find some happiness.

As for the harlequin card…well, she’d save that mystery for when her love life wasn’t so ridiculous and she could think straight. And why had she signed her name ‘Quinn’ instead of ‘Quinzel’?

**Laurel says he just wants to watch movies with us all tomorrow – see whether we can have a normal end to our trip before we go back to Star City**

** Do you need me to run interference? **

**No, it’s cool. She’d already faked an emergency case that she needs to start preparing for in Star City. But what about Dig?**

_Hack into Lyla’s phone and pretend to send a text to him saying that he wants to meet, and then do the same from him. He’ll leave so fast your head will spin_

**BABYDOLL YOU’RE ALIVE**

** Wait are you with Kyle right now? **

_Yeah_

**What did he want? Did he propose? Did you say no? Was it totally embarrassing?**

** Did you tell him about Barry? **

**Oh crap**

_What?_

** What did you do now **

**I may have messaged Kyle as well**

_Felicity Megan Smoak…_

** What did you say? **

**It doesn’t matter what I said! But I’ll just send him an apology text. In fact, I’ll do that for everyone**

** Don’t forget, don’t send one to oliver. You actually WANT to Netflix and chill with him **

Iris laughed and searched for Kyle, before gesturing for him to come back inside. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied. “Thanks for bringing it to me.”

“Of course. Besides, if I was going to be in town anyway, it made sense. How’s Linda? Is she feeling better?”

“She’s still taking some time off, but she’s better,” Iris said. “Felicity keeps making her latkes, which she loves.”

“So, I had a question, actually.” He pulled out his phone. “I got a really weird text from her last night. _Dear Kyle, you are very very very pretty and I like your muscles and your face, but we are team baguette because they are French and hard and yummy. Byeeeee_!” He looked at her, a confused smile on his face. “Any idea what that’s about?”

 _That I am about to commit a murder_. “Oh, um, Felicity just had a little too much to drink at dinner last night – she drunk-dialled everyone after we all left. You should probably just delete that. Here, you want me to do it for you?”

“No, I’ve got it,” he laughed. After someone came to pour them more wine he looked at her again. “So, how’s your article going? Is Barry worthy to work with the great Iris West?”

“Barry?” Iris repeated, feeling her face get hot. “Um, well, he’s not a reporter or a writer, so, um, it’s more him talking about science and me writing it down. But he’s really cool to work with. And we’re friends, which is nice. It’s always fun to work with your friends. Which is…which is what we are. Friends.”

Kyle gave her a knowing look and sipped his wine, smiling. “Uh-huh. Well, he seems really nice, so I’m sure whatever you guys come up with will be great.”

“What about you? What mysterious things are you getting up to with Ray Palmer?”

“Nice try, Iris. It’s confidential.”

“Come on, you can tell me!”

He raised his eyebrows. “So you can put it in the paper? Or your _blog_?”

They laughed and chatted for a little while longer, before Kyle said that he had to go, apologising as he ordered a town car. “It’s okay,” Iris shrugged as he got the check. “I have to get back to work anyway. Some of the interns aren’t back at work and Mason’s starting to look like the little goblin thing from Lord of the Rings when he does the meetings.”

“Yeah,” he said as they walked outside, “kind of glad I didn’t meet him.”

A town car pulls up on the street and then turns to her, that pretty, charming smile on her face. “So, I guess this is goodbye. Unless you want to tell me you’re also Supergirl.”

“Well, if I was, I definitely wouldn’t tell _you_ ,” she said playfully, “especially since you won’t tell me what you’re doing with Ray Palmer.”

“Confidential, remember. Besides, I doubt you’d be interested. It’s not like he’s a superhero.”

“You never know.”

He sighed and smiled, holding his arms out, and Iris stepped into his embrace. “Go be happy, Kyle,” she said. “I’m sorry we weren’t enough for each other.”

“I think we were exactly what we needed exactly when we needed it.”

“You always did love having the last word.”

“Yup. And you go be happy too, Iris. I mean it.”

***

The walk back to CCPN was short but Iris walked quickly – the weather was changing as November trundled on, the winds becoming sharper and the morning air stinging her cheeks every time she left her apartment. Iris was still thinking of the letter when she got there – she’d have to tell Linda and Felicity and her dad – and she knew she would have kept thinking about it for the rest of the day. If she were not completely undone by the sight of one Barry Allen sitting on one side of her desk. “B-Barry? I – You – What are you doing here?”

He frowned at her. “It’s Monday, Iris. We always meet on Mondays. Besides, last week you told me that I had to keep this day free so we could work on something for the article or, and I quote, you’d kneecap me with an old rusty tire iron. And I like my knees.”

“I like your knees too,” she replied automatically, and Barry’s frown deepened. Iris blinked. “I mean, you know. I’m sure they’re nice knees. And you get to – to keep your knees, since I’m not going to kneecap you. Seeing as you’re on time. And all.”

“Okay,” he said easily, breaking into a smile, and Iris’ breath caught in her throat. How Barry Allen managed to switch between incredibly cute but also completely irresistible was totally beyond her. And if he wasn’t doing that, he was being both at the same time. “Busy day?”

“Hm? Oh, um, yeah. Linda’s not back and some of the interns are college students with finals, so all the staff writers have to remember what it’s like to do all our research ourselves.”

“How are they? Chris and Steph?”

“Oh, they’re great,” she replied as she at down and turned on her computer. “I went to go see them at home – both of them really want to come back and help Lin with her story, which’ll be entertaining, since I’m the one helping her with it right now.”

He laughed, tipping his head to one side. “Sounds like you’ve got a lot on your plate. Sure you can handle that?”

She laughed nervously. “What? Oh, sure I can. You know how the song goes – ‘I’m every woman, it’s all in meeee’…”

Iris felt her face get hot when she realised she was _singing Chaka Khan to Barry at her desk_ , and then Barry smiled at her, which made her face even hotter. She swallowed. “So, um, you want some coffee?” she asked, making to get up quickly. “Because I can get some for you if – Shit!”

Barry caught the files that Iris had knocked off her desk in her enthusiasm to fetch Barry coffee before they hit the floor, and grabbed her arm. The motion sent sparks streaking up it. Behind him, she could see Mason smirking into his coffee. “Iris,” he said quietly, his voice low. “Are you okay?”

 _I’m in love with you._ “I’m fine,” she squeaked. “Fine. Everything’s fine. Why?”

“You seem really jittery. Did something happen today, or…”

“No! Nothing happened. Nothing happened at all. I mean, I met Kyle today, and he gave me a letter, but other than that, nothing. Nothing at all.”

Barry stared at her for a second, his eyebrows knitted, and she thought of what everyone had said at dinner. Sure, they’d said that Barry _wanted_ her (and she’d spent a little too much time thinking about the mental image of Laurel’s suggestion of Barry eating hot fudge off her body because… _God_ ), but how much of that was due to the fact that they’d had inappropriate sex right here in this office and she happened to know she looked hot in that dress? But the look Barry was giving her right now was no different than all the other looks that he gave her when they were together. In fact, if she thought about it, the only difference between them was the way _she_ was acting – like she’d swallowed a dozen caffeine pills and chased them down with soda.

“And did…Did Kyle say something?” he asked. “To freak you out?”

“No. Yes. Well, kind of. It…Do you maybe not wanna talk about science for a little bit?”

Barry shrugged. “Sure. I’ve spent the whole day analysing the habits worn by the nuns in the Sun Dial Church case, so – Don’t _look_ at me like that, Iris,” he added, laughing, “this isn’t me forgetting how nosy you are. The fact that there are nuns involved is public news and you know it.”

“Damn it,” she sighed. “Maybe next time. So, um, Kyle and I met for lunch, and we talked, and it turns out that all he wanted was to do was give me a letter. It was kind of important – actually, it was really important – so he didn’t want to just put it in the mail for me to find.”

“What was it about?”

“Um, you know Dawn had a sister?”

Barry’s look turned soft. “Of course. Uh, Holly?”

“No,” Iris laughed, “that’s the name I picked for her for the article. Her name’s Harley. Harleen and Dawnette. Their parents really liked old names. So, anyway, she used to be a psychiatrist, and while Dawn and I were in freshman year, she did some of her intern years at Arkham.”

“Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane?” Barry said. “Seriously? But that’s where they keep the-”

“Joker,” Iris finished. “Right. And Harley was one of the doctors assigned to him. Eventually everyone gave up because they thought he was a lost cause, but Harley. She kept trying to save him or make him not…well, the Joker. But it didn’t work, and I guess she got a little too attached and they asked her to leave. And then right after that Dawn died and she kind of…well, she ended up _in_ the Asylum.”

“Wow,” he breathed. “That’s…”

“I know. And before I left, she was still there. But then she got out and she wanted to see me, but she couldn’t find me, so she went to see Kyle and gave him the letter.”

“What did it say?”

“It was kind of mysterious, actually. She said she was out and she was okay, and that she wanted to thank me for everything that I did for Dawn when the police wouldn’t look for her. I mean, she wouldn’t tell me where she was, but I couldn’t exactly blame her after the hellish few years she’d had. Then she left me some way to contact her if I wanted.”

Iris absolutely did not mention the part about True North. There were some things you just didn’t tell people.

“Oh,” Barry said. “Are you okay? That must have been hard.”

“Yes and no,” she shrugged. “I guess – it was Dawn, you know? I lived with her until I was twenty-two, and then she was one of the first people I called whenever I got something published. But it’s nice to know that her sister’s okay.”

“That’s true. And, uh, that was nice of Kyle to bring that all the way over here.”

Iris shrugged again. “He’s a nice guy. I mean, he wouldn’t tell me whatever it was that he was getting up to with Ray Palmer, but still. Nice guy.”

“Oh, whatever you do, don’t tell Oliver about Ray Palmer,” Barry told her. “I hadn’t realised where I recognised the name, but when Queen Consolidated was in danger of going under last year, he was one of the people who almost bought it.”

“But it’s not, like, a Bruce Wayne level of hatred, right?” Iris asked. “I remember when I mentioned that I had a MacBook, and he kept glaring at it because Wayne Enterprises won that deal to partner with Apple a couple of years ago.”

Barry snorted. “You should have seen his face when I mentioned I liked the computers from LexCorp. I thought he was going to shoot me. I grew up in National City – _everything_ was made by LexCorp. Until that Maxwell Lord guy turned up, anyway.”

“Tell me about it,” she agreed. “There’s no way you can live in Gotham for almost ten years and not own something produced by Wayne Enterprises. Although I guess Kyle’s getting all his stuff from Palmer Tech from now on.”

Barry thought for a moment. “Do you miss it?”

“Miss what?”

“Gotham.”

Iris sat back. “Sometimes. It’s _Gotham_. It’s ugly and beautiful and scary and amazing, all at the same time. I spent so much of my life there and it’s where I first started writing and where I…where I kind of grew up, you know? Don’t get me wrong, I love being back home and being around my family and my friends and I love my job, and it’s nice to _not_ live in a place with Catwoman and the Joker and people who run around…dressed like bats,” she corrected quickly, aware that she was going to start talking about the Calendar Man, “but you kind of end up loving it after a while. Although I can’t say that I miss playing by Gotham Rules.”

He gave her a confused smile. “Gotham…Rules?”

She folded her arms and gave him a rueful smile. “Yeah, it’s that ugly part of Gotham I was talking about. There’s a reason Gotham City Police Department is one of the most corrupt in America. Whenever someone would get busted and it made the news, you’d always get someone over at the Gazette willing to pay a reporter to write a fake story or plant some fake evidence to get them off the charges. I’ve lost count of all the people who did that.”

“Really?” he demanded. “That’s terrible. I don’t think that’s ever happened here before. Has that ever happened to you?”

“Yeah, a few times. Commissioner Gordon – I think he’s basically Gotham’s Captain Singh – was pretty good whenever we took it to him. There was this one time, though, I felt physically sick when I got the bribe. Sal Maroni, this mob boss, asked if I would ‘screw up’ the research I’d done for my mentor who was reporting on his top hitman. Said he wanted to get him out of prison to get him home to his ‘family’. Can you believe that?” she demanded, shaking her head in disgust. “ _Nothing_ would make me want to get a convicted murderer out of prison, let alone dirty money from a mob boss. I was shaking, I was so mad. I gotta say though, he picked his victim right – the intern with student loans is always a good place to start if you need to bribe someone.”

“Oh,” Barry said quietly. “H-He asked you to do that? Help him get someone out of prison?”

“Not directly. Anonymous letter in the mail, because assholes don’t even have any courage. I guess he didn’t want me to see his face or whatever.”

“What happened?”

“I took it to my mentor, who took it to our boss, who took it to Commissioner Gordon. But then it didn’t matter, because then the DA arrested, like, half the mob bosses in Gotham, so I was the least of his worries. I wonder if he’s still around.” She shook her head. “Anyway, I’m sure you don’t want to be watching the latest episode of ‘Iris West’s Crusade Against Murderers’.”

“Uh-huh,” Barry said. Iris frowned at him. See, now he looked totally different than he did five minutes ago, like he was disappointed in something. Was it something she said?

“So, anyway,” she continued, “Kyle’s going back to Gotham.”

“He is?”

“Yeah. I mean, he doesn’t really have anything else to do here. Despite what Eddie and my dad have been telling everyone.”

“Oh,” he said. Was it her imagination or did he look kind of…hopeful? “You’re not getting back together?”

“No, Barry, and thank you for reminding me that I have to murder Eddie when I see him next for telling everyone that. I don’t know what’s gotten into him.”

“Love goggles,” Barry nodded.

“Love goggles?”

“Love goggles. Ask Wally.”

“Okay,” Iris said. She fiddled with her watch. “I just wouldn’t want…anyone to think that’s what was going on. Because it’s not.”

Barry opened her mouth to say something but his phone buzzed, and Iris’ buzzed at the same time.

**To anyone I may have spoken to or spoken about to jumped on or sang to or otherwise acted in a way that is not normal in social situations, I apologise. Felicity xx**

**Especially the singing**

**And the dancing**

**And all the inappropriate stories**

**Sorry!**

When she was sure that Felicity wasn’t going to send anything else, she looked up at Barry. “You got one too?” he asked.

“Yep,” she replied, laughing. “She’s a special one, my pretty girl.”

**#teambaguette**

Iris panicked for a second until she realised that she was the only one who’d gotten that message. “Did she tell you a story about bagels?” he asked quizzically.

“Nope,” she said quickly. “No, I don’t remember anything like that. She just kept talking about how much she loves Oliver.”

“Yeah, she told me that too.”

“Honestly, she could tell Oliver to his face and he still might not get it.” She paused. “So, um, Barry.”

He smiled at her. “Iris.”

Iris’ throat went dry at the way he said her name and – did he always say her name like that? Okay, this was ridiculous. Barry was a guy. It wasn’t like she was confessing her feelings to a movie star. But it was just that she couldn’t _read_ him. She couldn’t tell if they were really close friends and she’d just fallen in love with him – and _everyone_ had noticed – or if he wanted something more than that. She suddenly had a vision of her telling him that that she was in love with him and him just looking at her in horror, because he wasn’t there at all. Or maybe it was that she was just attracted to him. Maybe she _should_ just climb into his lap. It looked particularly inviting right at this moment, and it wasn’t like they didn’t have practice making out in a desk-

“Iris?” he repeated. “You okay? You haven’t said anything for the past five seconds.”

“Oh! Sorry, I um…I just wanted…I wanted to ask you when you thought everyone would be free to do the interviews,” she finished lamely. “For the article.”

Behind Barry, Mason choked on his coffee, and Iris narrowed her eyes at him briefly while Barry turned to look at him. “You okay, boss?” someone called.

“Sure,” he said. “Just watching one of those funny videos you guys are always talking about. You know, the ones where the cat tries to jump on something and fails. Spectacularly.”

“Is he smiling?” Barry asked. Iris resisted the urge to hurl something at Mason.

“No, he’s just baring his teeth,” she answered. “He traded his ability to smile for a never-ending lack of empathy. So, what do you think? When can I finally visit the famous STAR Labs you all love so much?”

“How about this Friday?” he suggested a little too casually. He looked down at his hands briefly. “I – We, actually, kind of have something prepared for you.”

She peered at him. “Like what?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“Uh-oh,” she said.

“It’s nothing bad,” he laughed. “Just come with an open mind. And bring your camera.”

“Come with an open mind with a camera for a surprise,” Iris repeated. “If we were in college I’d be running in the other direction, you know.”

“I promise, you’ll love it. So, what are we doing today?”

“Just structure,” she replied. “I wanted you to look at something…”

They worked for a couple of hours before Barry said he had to go back to work, and Iris slumped in her chair. Okay, so she hadn’t told him then. But she would tell him eventually. She _would_. But maybe she should start small and tell him that she wanted to be more than friends. Yeah, that made sense, and probably wouldn’t scare him off. And it was probably better than ‘I can’t stop thinking about you because I’m in love with you and also I’d like nothing more than to tie you naked to my bed’.

Probably.

Besides, at least she could work her way up to it while she wasn’t thinking about Kyle and Dawn and Harley. Although she wasn’t sure how she felt about that _surprise_.

“So, that was entertaining,” Mason said cheerily (though of course that didn’t mean he was smiling), sitting down on her desk. “Thanks for the show.”

“Go away, Mase.”

“I don’t know what was funnier,” he continued as if she hadn’t spoken, “you being sinfully obvious or him being sinfully oblivious. You two would make the perfect couple.”

And even though she knew it would probably get her some horrible assignment that Mason didn’t want, Iris suggested, “Like you and Cat Grant?”, which of course irritated him and of course he gave her an assignment on the latest sewer renovations in downtown Central City. Of course.

But at least he got off her desk, and she _did_ get a good laugh out of the look on his face.

***

_I don’t know where he came from. I don’t know if there are more like him. But I do know now, more than ever, that the impossible exists. Whoever Everyman is, he’s probably smart enough to realise that he needs to lie low now. But I hope that the police can make steps to release all the innocent people he framed._

_As always, believe in the impossible._

_True North_

Iris yawned, closing her laptop, before pushing it to one side and throwing her legs over the side of the bed. Once she edited that blog post, it would be online tomorrow evening, once she sent all the information she’d collected and the video to CCPD tonight. She smiled to herself. This, more than anything, was one of the best parts of her job.

She padded to the kitchen in search of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich – and hen cursed because the jars of peanut butter were on a really high shelf and she couldn’t be bothered to get a stool to reach them, so she just dug some brownies out of the cupboard and prepared herself to go curl up on the couch in front of The Good Wife when she heard someone knock at the door. Iris frowned as she went to answer it – Linda was still at her mother’s and Felicity was hopefully watching a movie with Oliver, and she wasn’t expecting anyone. She opened the door. “Eddie?”

“Hey, ladybird,” he said. He was holding a bag of takeout and an apologetic smile. “So, I’m an idiot.”

“Oh yeah?” she said, folding her arms. “You figured?”

“Hey, I’m an idiot, but I brought food. Can I come in?”

“Is that sweet and sour chicken?”

“Yeah.”

“Come in.”

Once they were settled on the couch, Eddie turned to her. “With all the stuff you and Linda tell me about guys, you couldn’t tell me that you’re in love Barry?”

“Eddie, _I_ didn’t even know that I was in love with Barry until last night,” she said, poking him with a chopstick. “And how do _you_ know that I’m in love with him?”

“Linda told me, finally. I mean, I knew that he liked you, but-”

“Barry likes me?”

“Iris, I think you’re the only one who _doesn’t_ know that. Even Patty figured it out after that dance – she was mad at me for throwing them both at each other.”

“Well, why did you?”

Eddie looked at her. “Because I wasn’t sure how _you_ felt about _him_. It was pretty obvious that he liked you, and I didn’t want him to get hurt because you didn’t like him back. You…” He paused, thinking. “Barry doesn’t tell you a lot about himself, does he?”

“I just thought he was guarded. “

“He is. When he first moved here, he didn’t have any people. His parents are dead and Jay and Joan live really far away. When my dad died and my mom was working all the time, your dad let me come over all the time, so I had you and Linda and Wally – I had people. Barry never had that, and he doesn’t show it, but it makes him miserable. As much as a nightmare of a girlfriend that Becky was-”

“Thanks for telling me about that, by the way,” she interrupted sardonically.

“And risk you skinning the poor guy alive? Sure. Anyway, as bad as she was, she was still a person who was _there_ for him, you know? I thought you just wanted to be friends and maybe I shouldn’t have pushed so hard, but I wanted him to find someone like Bette is for me – someone who wants him. Barry’s the kind of guy who deserves that.”

Iris looked at him, warmed. “God, I hate you. You know, this is why everyone wanted to date you in high school. You’re so _perfect_.”

“Good thing I had you and Linda,” he quipped, swallowing some noodles. “Your ugly faces scared them all off.”

Iris hit him and he grinned. “So. You love him, huh?”

She smiled helplessly. “Yeah, I do.”

“That’s good, I’m happy for you. Now Bette can stop yelling at me.”

“Aw, poor baby,” she laughed. “When is she leaving?”

Eddie looked at his hands. “Wednesday. Don’t forget to-”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” she interrupted. “She’s going to get a beautifully obnoxious Iris West goodbye, tears and all. And she’ll be back before you know it.”

“Thanks, ladybird. So, what did Kyle want?”

“I’ll tell you later,” she said. She rested her head on his shoulder like when they were children and turned on the TV. “And be happy that I’m not murdering you for making Barry think that I was marrying Kyle. I still might.”

“Did I mention how pretty you look today?”

“Not enough.”

Iris did rediscover her motivation to murder someone, though, when Eddie got a text about an hour later. “Iris?”

“Yeah?”

“What’s #teambaguette?”

“I have no idea,” she replied. When Eddie wasn’t looking, she picked up her phone.

_I am going to MURDER you._

**I’m sorry! It was Linda's idea!**

** Hahahahahaha Eddie is #teambaguette we’ve started a movement **

_You too_

** I think we should get shirts made **

Iris ignored them both, before clicking on Barry’s name.

_Barry?_

Yeah?

_What do you think of bowties?_

Okay

Okay

Okay don’t laugh

I know it’s dorky, but I think they’re kind of cool

_I don’t think they’re dorky Barry_

Yeah?

_Not dorky at all_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now will you all stop hating Kyle so much? Thanks for reading, liking and commenting!


	17. Baby Steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Barry and Iris finally make some moves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is pretty short, very eventful, and not well-edited. That said, I love this chapter, so I hope you like it!

Barry frowned as he looked at his phone. He’d just had the weirdest conversation with Iris that he could remember. Half of it was her rambling about spreadsheets, until he reminded her that she didn’t need spreadsheets for her article. In fact, the last twenty-four hours had been weird.

He was still reeling from that dance during Eddie and Bette’s engagement dinner, like he was holding live lightning in his hands, and that was the moment that he knew he’d truly been lost to her. They’d stopped dancing and then clapped for Joe, and then both of them had practically run out of there without looking at each other. They were scheduled to meet the next day, and Barry didn’t know how he was going to look at her without his feelings being written all over his face.

But then Iris had been all jittery and distracted and he still didn’t know why. He wasn’t going to pretend that he wasn’t happy – okay, that he was damn near fucking _ecstatic_ – when he heard that Kyle was going back to Gotham (and that apparently the entire thing was a mix of speculation and his own jealousy), but he couldn’t work out Iris’ feelings. First she couldn’t look him in the eye, then she looked like she wanted to tell him something, then she was shooing him out of CCPN. And then there was the question about bowties, which was completely random even though he loved the fact that she didn’t find bowties dorky.

Barry flicked his eyes to the fingerprint analysis he was running and then switched the slides out for new ones as he continued to think. He knew about Gotham – everyone in America knew about Gotham. Rich as Metropolis, more corrupt than Star City, none of National City’s optimism and the dark mirror to Central City’s penchant for weird beings. It didn’t surprise him that Iris had such a negative view of them – he would too if he were surrounded by corrupt politicians, murderous mob bosses and violent criminals like the Joker. Seeing her face, her disgust, at the thought of being asked to get someone convicted of murderer out of prison hurt much, much more than it should, but it wasn’t like she knew what her words were doing to him. It was a normal, human reaction.

Barry just wished that there were some way for her to know all of him, because then they could…they could be together.

Because that was what he wanted. All the times he held her – all the times they held each other – like the night his mother died and when Linda was in the hospital and during that dance, he was beginning to realise that was what he wanted. He wanted to be able to hold Iris and look at Iris and love Iris, but he couldn’t do that – he wouldn’t be able to stand it – if it ended up being like all his other relationships. He couldn’t handle it when she started asking about his family and why he always disappeared to do weird things, and – and he knew Iris. There was no way she’d take being lied to for a single solitary second.

“Barry!” someone said, and he looked up. Patty was smiling at him. “Have you got the report from the History Museum robbery?”

“Yup, right here,” he replied. “It’s nothing new, unfortunately – all the fingerprints match the guy you arrested. You guys got any leads?”

“None whatsoever. It’s so frustrating!” she sighed, folding her arms. “I’ve interviewed some of these people, Barry. I’ve _seen_ them. Even if they did commit all these crimes, at the very least they _believe_ that they didn’t. It’s just weird.”

Barry made a noise in agreement. Just as they’d figured out the Tommy Holland case, this new spate of robberies with everyone declaring that they didn’t do it had taken over. Eddie, Patty and Joe had interviewed countless victims as well as the arrested people themselves. In each case, it was the same – everyone saw them do it, the video cameras saw them do it, but they always denied it and some even had alibis saying they were somewhere else. “Has anyone else been arrested this week?”

“Not that I can see, but-”

“Allen! Spivot!”

They both looked up to see Joe gesturing at them. “Captain wants a meeting. He’s pretty insistent.”

Barry frowned. “Even me?

“Whole precinct, guys.”

Patty and Barry shared a look and then made their way downstairs. “Hey, Eddie,” he said as everyone gathered in the office. “Any idea what this is about?”

“A little,” he shrugged. “Apparently the Captain got a tip, but I’ve never seen a tip so big that everyone in the precinct needs to see it.”

They waited for a while until Captain Singh walked in and everyone quieted. “He looks kinda freaked,” Eddie whispered.

“You think it was another robbery?” Patty asked.

“Guess we’ll see.”

“Good morning, everyone,” he said. “I trust you’re all wondering why I’ve asked you in here like this. All of you know that we are in the habit of accepting anonymous tips from civilians – sometimes people are too scared to come in and talk to us directly. We got one such tip to day, and it was…eye-opening to say the least.” Captain Singh paused. “Actually, I think it would be best if I showed you all. Julie?”

Barry craned his neck over the gathered heads of the people are Julie connected a laptop to the large television screen in the precinct. The screen flickered, then he recognised a street off the side of the History Museum from where he’d gone to examine the scene last week. The timestamp was dated the Sunday of the engagement dinner, but very early in the morning. Then, as Barry watched, people started milling around and opening up their shops and businesses. He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary – until he did. Someone bumped into someone else and apologised, grasping them by their shoulders to right them before ducking into the corner near the camera. And then-

“Holy _shit_ ,” Eddie muttered, and everyone around the room echoed his sentiment.

As they watched, the man changed into the woman he’d bumped into, clothes and everything, before striding right back around the corner, out of view of the camera. Then the video replayed in slow motion, with little labels that identified the woman as- “Yvonne Maynard,” Captain Singh said as the video faded to black. “You’ll know that she was arrested later that day for the robbery, despite the fact that she had an alibi and consistently denied being anywhere near the Museum at the time. With this we can probably re-examine all the similar cases that we’ve had in the past two weeks.”

“Who sent this in?” someone asked, and the Captain rubbed his face.

“Have any of you ever heard of True North?”

The room exploded into hubbub and Barry stared at him. “You mean the conspiracy blogger?” someone asked. “The one with the website?”

“I thought she was in Gotham.”

“No, she moved back here a couple of months ago.”

“I didn’t know you read that blog, Tim.”

“I mean, it’s pretty cool…”

“Barry, don’t you read that blog?” someone asked him.

Barry, who’d been staring in disbelief ever since the Captain had mentioned that name, nodded “Y-Yeah, I do. I have for years, actually. But I had no idea that she-”

“This is the second tip she’s sent here that’s worked,” Eddie told them. “You remember that thing with the guns two months ago?”

“That was her?”

Eddie nodded. “I spent ages trawling through all her old stuff, and I’m telling you, a good eighty percent of what she did was spot-on or at least mostly true. True North may be a lot of things – a mystery, maybe even a team of people – but conspiracy theorist she is not.”

“I’ll say,” Patty nodded in admiration. “I’ve been reading that thing since I got here. Anyone who can come up with tips like that would make one hell of a detective.”

“Maybe she should apply to work here,” Eddie suggested. “That way she’d have at least two fans.”

Both of them laughed and Patty quirked an eyebrow at Eddie. “Look, Eddie, Barry and I laughed at the same thing. Don’t you think that means we’re in love?”

Barry, catching on, grinned. “Oh, definitely. I’m about to get down on one knee right now.”

Eddie rolled his eyes at both of them as they kept laughing. The day after the dinner, Patty had walked into his office to apologise, saying that she didn’t want to make anything awkward. Especially after she’d figured out that the person he wanted was Iris.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I really do like you, Patty, but-”

“Hey, I get it,” she interrupted. “Things happen. I mean, I’m going to troll the fuck out of Eddie for pushing the two of us together. It’s gonna be fun.”

“I hate you both,” Eddie muttered, back in the present. That was when Captain Singh came up to them, Joe close behind. “Spivot, Thawne. You two are going to go re-interview everyone we arrested and ask whether they remember someone bumping into them before the robbery. Allen, you and Joe are going back to each of the crime scenes – re-examine everything and go over any of the footage from those days and see if anyone bumps into anyone else.” Barry was surprised when the Captain started smiling. “I want your best work on this, people. We could get a lot of innocent people out of jail.”

“It’s pretty incredible, right?” Patty grinned. “I wonder who she is.”

“Well, if anyone ever finds out, she’s someone I want working for me.”

Joe sipped his coffee. “Ah, you never know. She might be closer than you think. She _is_ here in Central City, after all.”

“I’d love to see that day,” Eddie said. “What if it was someone we knew?”

“Like who?”

“Well…Julie. She’s always so quiet. It’s always the quiet ones.”

Joe sipped his coffee again. “Uh-huh. Ready to go, Barry?”

By the time Barry got back from the day’s work, he was exhausted. Both of them were. It was a good day, however – everything that they’d found confirmed what True North had sent them, and Captain Singh was making calls to the District Attorney’s office to get the people released. Joe grinned at him. “This is the good part, right?”

“Huh?”

“That smile on your face,” he said. “I’ve been a cop for thirty years and sometimes you forget why you did it. But this – this is why we do it.”

“Yeah,” Barry smiled at him, hefting his kit over his shoulder. “I mean, I knew that True North was good at her job, but this is incredible. And the fact that she’s here in Central City kind of makes you proud, doesn’t it?”

Joe gave him a small smile. “Yep. Proud’s the word. Captain, we’re done.”

Barry nodded as Captain Singh walked up to them. “Anything else you need sir?”

“Take the rest of the day off, Allen,” the Captain told him. At Barry’s protests, he held a hand up. “No arguing. You’ve been working yourself into the ground this past month, and I can’t have my only CSI collapsing from exhaustion.”

“He’s right,” Joe added, slapping him on the shoulder. “This place would pretty much fall apart without you, so go get some rest. Anything happens, we’ll call you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Go hang with your friends. Cisco, or Felicity, or Iris-”

“Iris is working late today,” Barry said immediately. Joe raised his eyebrows and Barry cleared his throat. “I mean, you know. That’s what…That’s what she told me.”

“Right,” Captain Singh smiled knowingly. “Well, good work today, Allen. Go enjoy the rest of it.”

***

“So they just…took off?”

“Yep.”

“Last night.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And left you here.”

“’You’re safest here, Felicity,’” Felicity mimicked Oliver’s – though admittedly it was very accurate – deep voice as she relayed what had happened to Barry as she sipped her coffee. “’I’m not letting you in the Foundry until I find who’s responsible for attacking it’.”

Barry sat back, his arms folded. “And you guys have no idea?”

Felicity shook her head. Barry had left the precinct and then texted Felicity to meet him at Jitters with the others, so he’d been pretty shocked to hear that only she turned up – and even more shocked that the others had gone back to Star City without her. “I mean, there’s been this new masked vigilante running around and Dig thinks that maybe she did it, but then Laurel pointed out that she only goes after criminals, so why would she do it?”

“She, huh?” Barry grinned. “Good to know being a masked crime-fighter is an equal-opportunity thing. What does Oliver think?”

“Oh, he thinks that yet another one of his old enemies is here to kill us all,” Felicity said dismissively. “Honestly, the guy was marooned on an island for five years, how many mortal enemies hell-bent on revenge can he have?”

“Hopefully this is the last one,” he replied. “Are you staying for the Particle Accelerator getting turned on?”

“Hopefully, unless Oliver gets his head out of his ass and realises that not having the IT girl around is actually rather detrimental to his wellbeing.”

Barry sipped his coffee. “Mm.”

Felicity narrowed her eyes at him. “What you you mean ‘mm’?”

“Well, I mean, is that the only reason you’re so desperate to be with Oliver? Nothing to do with the fact that you _loooove_ him?”

“I was _high_!” she hissed. “You can’t hold what I said against me.”

“So does that mean you won’t tell me about the bagel story?”

“Hoboken rules,” she said, and Barry frowned.

“What do you – oh my God.”

Felicity frowned. “What?”

But Barry was looking at the news, as was everyone else in Jitters, and then he and Felicity stood up and walked towards the news screens.

“ _In a surprising turn of events, a tip from the anonymous blogger True North has resulted in the release of over a dozen people arrested for committing robberies across Central City_ ,” Barry recognised a CCPN reported as they made the announcement outside of the police department. “ _According to the police, the real culprit is a shapeshifting entity that has managed to frame at least fourteen people in the past several weeks; True North has dubbed him ‘Everyman’. While Dr Harrison Wells of STAR Labs has deemed this type of being a ‘metahuman’, he retains the utmost confidence that the Central City’s Police Department will apprehend them, and will try to help in any way they can_.”

Felicity turned to Barry. “They asked Dr Wells about this?”

“They usually do,” he shrugged, “when it’s stuff they can’t explain.”

_“…as you can see, several of the arrested people are already being reunited with their families after the investigation was reopened in light of this new evidence. Here we have Central City Police Department’s Captain Singh on this latest development._

_“‘True North,’_ Captain Singh was saying, _‘has been called many things as she has…existed over the years. But one thing that remains constant is the fact that she has only ever tried to help people. Despite ridicule, despite discouragement. I have to admit that I was not one of the people who took her claims seriously, but now I’m not ashamed to admit that I was wrong. In her own small way, True North is a hero, and I’m grateful, as I’m sure we all are, that she’s a part of this city_.’

“ _Next up, some statements from the families_ …”

Felicity stepped forward to keep listening, rapt, but Barry’s phone buzzed with an email. When he tapped, he saw the little red compass and grinned.

 

_So._

_If you’re reading this, you’ve just seen a news report saying that I helped get some people out of prison. I don’t think I deserve all the credit, to be honest. Would I like to be on TV? Yes, actually, I would. I happen to think I’d look awesome on TV._

_But like I said, it wasn’t me – it was you._

_You guys are the ones who always inspire me to chase after these impossible things even when people were calling (and are still calling) me crazy. Ever since the beginning – and some of you in the_ very _beginning – you guys have been my strength so I could tell these stories. So I might be the one out here with the camera and the notebook, but you guys are the ones that drive me. For that, I want to thank all of you._

_As always, believe in the impossible,_

_True North_

_P.S. – there’s going to be a longer post at some point (someone finally told me what happened in Coast City! YAY!) but right now I’m at work_.

 

Barry looked up from his phone to see that some of the families were being reunited with their arrested loved ones, and it was like lightning struck him. He couldn’t breathe and his heart was pulsing crazily in his chest. Maybe…No, that was a terrible idea…But – he looked up at the screens again, at the people crying in relief that they were free, and made a decision. He tapped Felicity on the shoulder. “I have to go,” he said. “Call me before you go, okay?”

He hugged her quickly and left, his brain racing as he ran all the way to Iron Heights. It was probably the stupidest, most insane and least likely idea that he’d ever had, but it was all he had.

He was wheezing and doubled over by the time the guard – giving him a look that said he fully expected Barry to keel over and die in a moment and that he wasn’t going to do a damned thing about it – let him in to the prison and called his father. Henry frowned in alarm when he saw Barry slumped in the chair and gasping for breath as he grabbed the receiver. “Barry? Son, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m…” he paused and took a deep breath. “I’m great. For the first time in a long time, dad, I’m really, really great.”

“What was so urgent? What’s going on?”

Barry grinned. “I know how to get you out of here.”

***

_Hi._

_I don’t really know how to do this. Usually I just leave you messages or send you funny pictures. So this is kind of new for me._

_Before I begin, I just wanna say congratulations on the whole Everyman thing. That was pretty cool. Actually, everything you do is cool. But I guess you must get messages like that all the time. Back to me. I was wondering if you could help me with something. A long time ago, something impossible happened to me – to my family – and I’ve been trying to explain it ever since. It tore us apart, and this is me trying to put us back together – trying to make us whole again._

_It would be better if I met and explained it to you, and I know you must get messages like this all the time, but I promise I don’t have any ulterior motives. I’m just kind of desperate. I live here in Central City, if that makes it easier._

_If there’s any way you could help me – any way at all – I’d appreciate it._

_Yours,_

_The Scientist_

Barry looked over the message a dozen times, and even then he had to have a shot of whiskey before he could bring himself to press send. He could have just made the biggest, most desperate mistake of his life, or he could have just taken the first steps to clearing his father’s name. And that was his biggest motivation – getting his father out of prison. But it wasn’t his _only_ motivation. Because if True North could prove that his father wasn’t a murderer, then maybe he and Iris could have a real shot at being together without his secrets ruining it. Sure, she’d be mad that he lied to her at first, but surely she’d understand why. That way, she never needed to believe that his father was anything other than innocent – that he was the son of a murderer like the ones who had bribed and kidnapped her all those years ago. That is, if she liked him. But she had to, right? That – that was why she always wanted to spend time with him. And Wally said she did, hadn’t he? But then, he _really_ hadn’t liked Kyle, so maybe that was just wishful thinking. No, Iris had to like him at least a little. She _had_ to.

Barry rubbed his face tiredly and willed the worry out of his head. One step at a time. Hope that True North would help his dad, and then deal with his feelings for Iris. One step at a time.

So Barry Allen waited.

***

Iris West sat back in her chair at work, thinking.

The message had been sitting in her inbox for the past three days, and she hadn’t brought herself to answer it yet.

She’d been expecting some recognition for sending in the video, but not this much, and certainly not enough that people would be thanking her on the news and at the police station. It made her tear up, a little, that people believed in her this much. And then came the message from the Scientist.

There was an earnestness mixed with the desperation behind his words that made her pause whenever the mouse strayed to the ‘delete’ button. Iris got messages like this before, of course, but this was the first time she’d hesitated so much in deleting it. Because she was _going to_ delete it. Of course she was. But then she read that line again, that it tore apart his family and – well. She’d always been a sucker for family.

Iris shut down the message quickly, flicking back to the normal page, as Mason approached her desk. “West,” he said grumpily (that didn’t mean that he was in more of a bad mood than usual, in fact it was pretty standard for him), sitting on her desk. “Everything on track for that article on Harrison Wells and the Particle Accelerator?”

“Everything’s great.”

“Because you know that thing’s opening in a few weeks.”

“I should have the interviews done this week and the final draft done in the two weeks after that,” she assured him. “I’m meeting Barry today. Everything’s under control.”

“Good. Hm, True North. You read her blog too?”

Iris shrugged. “Just thought I’d catch up, since it’s been in the news.”

“Yes, the Everyman case. It’s a shame she won’t reveal herself, though.” He flicked through some of the files on her desk idly. “It would certainly lend credence to some of her wilder theories if people could see that she was real.”

She frowned. “But – I mean, she’s been anonymous for, what, ten years? It’s gonna be hard going from that to _everyone_ knowing who you are.”

Mason shrugged. “So? Lots of things are hard. Winning two Pulitzers is hard. Working with Cat Grant is hard. Managing the tiny brains of spoiled millennials is hard. I have excelled at all three, and I’m fine.”

“Yeah, Mase,” she laughed. “The best.” He narrowed his eyes at her.

“How’s your boyfriend?”

Iris glared at him. “Barry’s not my boyfriend.”

“You should tell him,” he said. “Before someone as nerdy and gormless as him comes alone and they realise they’re perfect for each other. Not that I want that,” he added idly. “Watching you drool over him is far more entertaining.”

“Mase, don’t you have anything better to do than troll me?”

“Nothing more fun. Not until Park gets here, and – Oh, there she is.”

“Iris, Mase,” she nodded, grinning. Iris smiled, surprised. Linda and the interns weren’t due to start work again until Monday.

“What are you doing here, Lin?”

“I wanted to get some work for the weekend,” she replied. “My mother is driving me crazy. Plus, Mase said he wanted to see me.”

“That I did,” he said. “I got a call from Tommy Holland’s lawyers yesterday.”

Iris frowned. “They’re not trying to pay her off, are they? Because I swear-”

“Claws away, West. On the contrary, they’re willing to offer an exclusive interview with Linda that’s going to air on Channel 52 in two weeks.”

Linda’s mouth dropped open. “You’re shitting me.”

“Shitting you I am not.”

“Linda!” Iris squealed, hugging her. “That’s great!”

“I’m going to be on TV,” Linda breathed.

“Yeah, it’s amazing!”

“I’m going to be on TV.”

“Yes, you are,” Mason frowned. “And don’t do that gaping thing when you’re up there. You’re representing CCPN, and right now you look like a fish.”

Linda and Mason devolved into the details – the questions she would ask, who’d be backing her up, legal stuff, and then Iris’ phone buzzed.

Okay, everything’s ready

_What’s the surprise?_

I’m not telling you

_Pleeeeeeeaaaaaasssseeee_?

Nope

_I hate you_

You love me

Iris’ heart stuttered in her chest until she realised that of course Barry didn’t know that was true. He was just being his adorable self.

_See you soon_

See you soon

“I have to go,” she told them both, gathering her things and shutting down her computer. “But you’ll call me, right?”

“I will,” Linda promised, still giddy. “Where are you going in such a hurry?”

“Duh, Linda,” Mason said in Iris supposed was meant to be an imitation of her voice. “She has to go meet Barry for the interviews. Because, you know. She loves him.”

“Oh, then you go on ahead,” Linda grinned. “Don’t let us stop you.” Iris glared at them.

“I hate you.”

“You love us.”

***

“…and then of course there are the psychological aspects.”

“Caitlin, _please_ , I don’t think I can take anymore!”

“Of which I am very proud of in my experimentation.”

“Oh my _God_!”

Iris dissolved into fits of laughter for the third time since she’d started talking to Caitlin as she played the video. It was of Cisco, Ronnie and Caitlin as they worked in the Cortex, Caitlin casually drawing on the board while the other two were bent over their workbenches. Once in a while, however, Caitlin appeared to say something – and then Cisco and Ronnie would bark.

No warning, no indication that they’d done anything out of the ordinary. Just – just bark a few times and then go back to what they were doing. This was the third kind of experiment she’d shown her – the others included doing the hula and singing the national anthem. Caitlin had said that the Particle Accelerator would allow her to break down the specific of hormone interactions to give a deeper understanding of hallucinogens – and that this was her first experiment.

“They’re such good boys,” she said fondly. “Always so willing to help.”

“Really?”

“Well. It’s not my fault that they eat so much that they never pay attention when I put stuff in their food.”

Iris giggled. “That was amazing, Caitlin. Thank you.”

Caitlin smiled and turned off the video, twisting around to face her. “Thanks, Iris. Is there anything else you need?”

“No, that was perfect. Now it’s just Barry and Dr Wells.”

Iris had arrived at STAR Labs a few hours earlier to do the interviews with everyone, and in that time she’d talked to Cisco, Caitlin, Ronnie, Vera, the volunteer coordinator, and lots of scientists that walked around. A lot of them seemed to know who she was, which surprised her, but then Vera must have told everyone she was coming, she supposed.

“Like you’ll really need to interview him,” Caitlin said. “You could probably just come up with all the answers yourself, you spend so much time together.”

“Right,” she laughed nervously. “But, you know, journalistic integrity and all. You know where he is? This place is really confusing.” Barry had given her a visitor’s badge and then disappeared, prosing to come back later.

“Um, no,” she said, glancing at her watch a little too casually. “But I’m sure he’ll be along soon. Hey, Dr Wells is here, aren’t you supposed to interview him?”

Iris turned to see Dr Wells himself behind her, those blue eyes piercing behind his glasses. “Miss West,” he said softly. “I believe you’re my next appointment.”

“Dr Wells,” she said, shaking his hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Caitlin and the others have told me so much about you.”

“That’s always gratifying to hear. Shall we get started?”

Iris had conducted interviews before – she’d even watched her superior interview the ever-enigmatic Bruce Wayne when she’d worked at the Gazette. But there was something about Dr Wells that made her feel like he was the one running the interview.

Oh, he was charming. Smart and kind and with that razor-sharp mind of his, she was honestly surprised that Lex Luthor still had a job. Dr Harrison Wells should have put him out of business. But he was also – well, the interview was coming to a close, and she could still describe him as completely enigmatic. She knew about his deceased wife and her devotion to this project, where he’d gotten his start in physics – and yet. Yet, there was still the feeling that she didn’t really know anything about this man.

And those _eyes_.

“Well, Dr Wells,” she laughed, “I gotta say, I didn’t think I’d be interested in this kind of thing when I first got the assignment, but all of you have changed my mind. I’m definitely looking forward to what you have planned for the future.”

“Thank you,” he smiled. “STAR Labs is my greatest creation, and with any luck the ramifications of our work will be felt for centuries.”

 _Centuries_. Okay, maybe she felt a little chill when he said that. Unbidden, Mason’s warning and that mysterious message on her blog she’d gotten way back when came into her mind. She shook it off. Barry and all her friends loved Dr Wells. He couldn’t be that bad.

Right?

Iris cleared her throat. “Well, thanks for doing this. I know how busy you are.”

“Of course,” he nodded affably, still smiling. “Mr Allen is probably our best volunteer. His enthusiasm and heart continually reminds us why we do what we do – anyone who is important to him is important to us.”

Iris laughed nervously, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Well, you know. It’s – It’s for the paper, it’s not just for me.”

“Ah, yes, the paper. Well, Miss West, I have known Mr Allen for almost a year now, and I can guarantee that his… _enthusiasm_ for this particular project is less about the newspaper than it is about the brilliant journalist writing the article.”

Iris blushed, speechless, before looking to Caitlin for help. She shrugged. “Hey, he’s the genius.”

She was trying to think of something to say when she heard a loud chorus of her name.

“ _Iris West_.”

Iris jumped and turned. A dozen kids, dressed in lab coats, suits, and hazmat outfits, were standing in the doorway to the Cortex, all with their eyes fixed on her. “Um,” she said quietly. “Yes?”

“ _We hear you’ve been writing about us_.”

She glanced at Caitlin and Dr Wells, both of whom were smiling. “I…I guess so.”

Then one of them, who was dressed in a smart lab coat, stepped forward and reached up to whisper in her ear. “Barry sent us,” he whispered conspiratorially to her. “Do you have your camera?”

“Sure, right here,” she said, holding up her bag. “But what’s-”

“It’s a surprise,” he grinned at her. Then he stepped back into formation, falling back into character. “Please come with us, Miss West. We have a lot to show you.”

***

Barry swallowed and looked at his watch for the third time. “Where are they?”

“They’re little, Barry,” Vera said in a bored voice. “They don’t have your praying mantis legs. They’ll be here in a minute.”

“Maybe they’re lost. You think they’re lost?”

“They’re not lost, Barry.”

“But-”

“Look, they’re here!”

Barry sighed in relief as the kids came back into a classroom, and grinned at the confusion on Iris’ face. “Barry, Vera,” she said. “What’s going on?”

“The kids have something to show you,” she replied, standing up. “Well, it was Barry’s idea, he put it together, but they all worked really hard on it.”

“Worked really hard on _what_?” Iris asked. “Barry, what is it?”

He grabbed her hand and led her to the centre of the room, which she didn’t know was right in front of the stage. “Sit down and you’ll see.”

“Okay…Wait, where’s Vera going?”

“Oh, I’ve seen this a million times. I hope you like it, Iris.”

After she left, Iris poked Barry in the ribs. “What did you do, Barry Allen?”

Barry grinned at her. “Wait and see.”

As they spoke, the lights cut out and a fanfare sounded.

“ _Welcome to our lair, Miss West_

_We’re here to show you we’re the best_

_More powerful than the Terminator_

_Harrison Wells’ Particle Accelerator_!”

Iris let out a surprised and excited scream as the kids started a performance about their work and Dr Wells and the volunteers, complete with a narrator who only spoke in rhyme and a choreographed re-enactment of the Accelerator being turned on. Her eyes were fixed on the stage for most of it, but every few minutes she’d turn to him and smile, and he’d smile back.

When it ended – with ‘the evil dragon of LexCorp’ being defeated by Dr Harrison Wells, warrior of Central City – Iris got up and clapped. “You guys! That was _amazing_! Did you do all of that yourself?”

“It was Barry’s idea,” they chorused. “Cisco helped with the song, though,” one of them added.

“Yeah, I was pretty proud of the Terminator/Accelerator rhyme,” he admitted. “But the rest of it was pretty terrible until he got a hold of it.”

“Well, it was incredible. All of it. Now, who wants to get interviewed?”

In the end, after she’d gotten a quote from each of the kids and they were playing and his interview was finished (well, it wasn’t really an interview so much as it was Iris realising that she knew all the answers to the questions she was going to ask him), Iris packed up her stuff, still excited. “Barry, that was simultaneously the most incredible and adorable thing I have ever seen. I’m going back to the paper right now to write about it – and thanks for making me bring my camera.”

“We also recorded it,” he told her. “If you want a copy. And, you know, there’s also a rehearsal version where Miles doesn’t look into the camera.”

She laughed. “Aw. I thought it was cute. Really, Barry, thank you. I think that’s my favourite part of this article.”

“Of course.”

Iris looked at him for a moment. “So, I wanted to ask your advice on something.”

“Yeah?”

“I recently got asked by someone for…help. It’s not something I usually do, but-”

“Iris, we both know you’re going to do it.”

“You don’t even know what it’s about!”

“No,” he agreed. “But I know _you_. You always help people unless you can find a good reason not to.”

She sighed, smiling. “I guess you’re right.”

“Of course I am.”

“Asshole. Anyway, I’d better go. Bye, everyone!” she said, and they all came up to hug her. She turned back to Barry. “Bye, Barry.” And she surprised him by hugging him too before she left. “Bye, Iris.”

“She’s the best,” Miles said as Barry watched her retreating figure. “She’s so nice and smart and pretty.” He sighed and said only in the way that eight-year-olds could, “I love Iris.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “I love Iris too.”

***

PRIVATE MESSAGE FROM: TRUE NORTH (admin) to THE SCIENTIST

_Okay, Scientist. I’ll bite. Can you meet tomorrow?”_

Are you serious?

_Serious as can be_

Really?

_You looking to change my mind?_

No, ma’am, not at all

_Ma’am, huh? I’ll take it. So, tomorrow. Central City Town Plaza by the fountain and five. Come alone. And no funny business or you’ll be sorry_

Yes, ma’am

_Bring everything about this case you’re talking about_

Yes, ma’am. But how will I know it’s you?

_Look for the woman with a purple flower in her hair_

Okay

_Scientist_?

Yes, ma’am?

_If you’re screwing around with me, there’ll be hell to pay_

Yes, ma’am

Barry stared at his computer and grinned. _Baby steps._

***

Iris was going to tell him. She had waited long enough, it was killing her, and she couldn’t take it anymore. Wake up, have coffee, tell Barry she wanted to be more than friends, and then go and reveal her identity to someone who could turn out to be a creep.

Okay, maybe she should eat breakfast, too.

Barry’s lab looked like a hurricane had hit it when she got there, and she almost didn’t see him. He’d told her that he would be at his lab today – he always was on Saturdays – but it was like she had caught him at a bad time. “Barry?”

His head popped up from under his desk. “Iris! You’re here!” he got up and dumped a file on his desk, before going to his shelf to find another one. His phone made an insistent beeping noise.

“I’m here,” she agreed. “Um, I kind of need to talk to you.”

“Sure, I’ll always be ready to talk to you.”

As she watched, he gathered yet more papers on the desk. “O-Okay,” she frowned. “Are you sure?”

“Positive. Um, have you seen my jacket?”

“You’re wearing it, Bar.”

“Hey, look at that! So, what did you want to tell me?”

“Right. So. Um. We’re friends.”

“Good friends,” he agreed, crossing the room to unpin several things from his board.

“And you’re really important to me.”

Barry smiled at her over his shoulder. “You’re really important to me too, Iris.”

Iris laughed nervously, twisting her fingers and then his phone beeped shrilly again and he started stuffing things in his bag. “Crap.”

“Barry, are you sure this is a good time?”

“Whatever you need to tell me, Iris, I’m listening.”

“Great. Well, I know that we’ll be done with the article soon, and we’ll probably have less excuses to hang out.”

Barry paused and looked at her. “I never thought of that. That sucks”

“Right. And it got me thinking that about – about us.”

“Uh-huh,” he nodded. He looked around his lab. “Where’s my jacket?”

“You’re still wearing it.”

“Oh, right. So, you’re thinking about us.”

“Yeah,” she said. “And I realised that I, kind of, want to be – I want to be more than just your friend from work.”

Barry gaped at her for what was probably two seconds, but what felt like an eternity, and Iris felt the need to crawl into a black hole at the look of naked shock on his face. “You don’t – You don’t feel the same way.”

“Iris-”

“That’s fine, it’s fine, I just – I should go-”

“Iris!” He grabbed her shoulders. “Stop.”

She looked up at him and he shot a glare at his phone when it started beeping again. “I don’t not feel the same way.”

“What?”

He swore when it wouldn’t stop and started putting more stuff in his bag. “I want to be more than your friend from work, too.”

She smiled in relief. “You do?”

“Of course I don't want to be just your friend from work, Iris," he laughed. "You have - _no idea_ how much I don't want to be just your friend from work. I just – I’m late, I need to meet someone-”

So did she – the Scientist just didn’t know she was going to be late on purpose to keep him waiting. She wasn’t about to let a complete stranger catch her off guard. “I will call you, and – _shit_ – I’ll text you. You know what? I’ll just – I’ll do both, okay? I’ll do both.”

“O-Okay,” she nodded. “Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow, I promise.”

Barry left and Iris stood there, feeling a little weird, when he came back in the room. He looked decidedly calmer when he grabbed her hands, his green eyes earnest. “Just, don’t change your mind,” he said quietly, rubbing his thumbs over her knuckles. “Please, God, don’t change your mind, okay?”

“Okay.”

He smiled, his eyes crinkling, and kissed her on the cheek, his breath hot against her skin. Iris' heart stuttered in her chest. Then his phone beeped again. “ _Shit_. I’ll call you tomorrow, I promise!”

Iris grinned, shaking her head, as Barry ran out of the room, her fingers lingering on the spot where Barry had kissed her. _Baby steps_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've literally been waiting to write that last scene forever, so i hope you all loved it as much as I do. Thanks for reading, liking and commenting!


	18. And That's What You Get For Changing Your Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which absolutely everything goes horribly wrong for absolutely everyone (but most especially Barry and Iris).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...yeah, I'm going to be very unpopular after this. But I've always planned for the story to go like this and it was very hard for me to write, so I'm actually very proud of the fact that I got through it and I hope you like it.

 

Barry Allen was late again.

Today of all days, he was late. _Again._ If this worked – if True North agreed to help him – then this could turn out to be one of the most important days of his life, and he was late. It was his fault, he knew – all of the files and evidence and similar cases he’d picked up to do with his mother’s murder weren’t just in his apartment, they were in his office. All over. He thought he’d only need one night to get it all together – boy, was he wrong.

He didn’t mind so much, though, not today. Because Iris had feelings for him. And it wasn’t Linda hinting or Felicity trying to make him feel better or Wally threatening him – it was her. Iris said she wanted to be more than friends. _Iris wanted to be more than friends._

Barry grinned as he made his way towards the walkway that would have the fountain underneath it. Central City Plaza was spread out like a pretty postcard underneath the walkway, with little shops and market stalls clustered around it. Okay, so maybe he’d have to lie to Iris for a little bit. But as long as she always saw him as her Barry, as the one she knew to be good (and he’d be the best for her), then he could deal with it.

He paused in the crowd when he got to the middle of the walkway. It would be nice, once they were actually together – and his heart skipped at that – to bring Iris for a walk up here. The view was gorgeous. There was the bakery that she was obsessed with because apparently they were the only ones to do brownies right, some really cute Italian restaurants that he was sure Oliver wouldn’t mind getting them into, seeing as Barry had saved his life once, and lots of little flower stores. This was actually where he’d gotten Iris the flowers, back when she was just Detective West’s daughter and he hadn’t known who she was. Maybe, after he was done with True North, he could bring her the same ones. And then it-

Barry frowned, blinked, and then looked again. He was sure he was imagining it but – no, there was Iris, striding purposefully across the plaza in that way that she did when she was about to, in Linda’s words, ‘kick ass Gotham-style’. With what Iris had told him about Gotham Rules, he was always pretty glad he wasn’t on the receiving end of it. He watched her, content, as she – she was walking right into the flower shop. Barry frowned. Was there a birthday he was forgetting? No, the next birthday was his own, actually, in the middle of January. He waited for her to come out, and then got even more confused when she was holding a single violet-coloured iris in her hand. And even then, he didn’t get it.

It wasn’t until she very carefully tucked the flower under her left ear and started scanning the fountain, checking her watch, that he realised.

It took him a few seconds, of course. That the woman you’re in love with is secretly the anonymous blogger you’ve been following your entire adult life is pretty hard to just _get_ straight away. But he was looking at her and there she was, a purple flower in her hair and a pensive expression on her face, probably because she’d never done this before. He stared at her, dumbstruck. _His Iris_ was True North. He grinned, speeding across the walkway. His Iris was True North, and she was waiting for _him_. Iris who could always make him feel better with only a text, Iris who’d quickly become the most important person in his life after only two months, Iris who-

 _Nothing would make me want to get a convicted murderer out of prison_.

The thought hit Barry like a bucket of cold water and he stopped in the middle of the walkway, frozen.

She had...she had said those words.

He wasn’t imagining them; they’d come directly out of her mouth. He remembered her disgust, her absolute _revulsion_ , when she had recounted the story of someone asking her to get the murderer out of prison. But this was different, wasn’t it? This was _him_ , this was Barry. And besides, she’d helped to find evidence for Everyman. But then, none of those people had ever been accused of murder.

Barry ran a shaking hand through his hair as he looked across the plaza, grateful at least that it was too high up for Iris to be able to spot him even if she looked up right now. She was still standing there, still waiting for him, but what would she say when he walked up to her? _Hey, Iris, I’m the Scientist and I need you to go against all of your morals and principles and help me get my dad out of prison because everyone but me thinks he murdered my mom_.

He swallowed, his other attempts at being honest with girls he thought he’d loved flashing back into his head with cruel clarity. There was Lacey, where telling her had literally landed him in the hospital. And then there was Jessica, who’d actually contacted the university welfare team because she thought he was crazy and that he was obsessed with things that weren’t there. Half the people on his course wouldn’t even talk to him after the psychiatrists said they wanted him committed.

 _He hadn’t wanted her to see him like this_.

Because that was it, wasn’t it? It was one thing for True North to know that this is the kind of thing that he did, but it was wholly different for _Iris_ to know that. True North was a blogger with no face, but Iris was the one person who he never wanted to see him like that. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t meet like like this – desperate and obsessed. He wasn’t ready. He wasn’t ready for her to know him like this yet. And if he was honest, he wasn’t sure when he ever would.

Barry took a deep breath, turned around, and went home.

And, after an hour of waiting, so did Iris.

***

_Call her._

_Don’t call her._

_Call her._

_Don’t call her._

Barry stared at the ceiling of his lab the next day, lost in thought. He thought that coming into work, even though it was Sunday and even Eddie and the captain weren’t here, would help distract him. He was wrong, of course. Because all he could think about was Iris and the fact that he’d promised to call her today. After four hours, he had managed to pick up the phone nine times and dialled her number five times. It had even almost started ringing once. But he’d cut the call each time.

There was some part of him that just said to bite the bullet – to ask her whether she would help him, not thinking about himself and his feelings. But then, what if she said no anyway? How could he be with her with that between them, that she had been his last hope and that she’d refused to help him? And that wasn’t even counting how Iris would look at him afterwards…

Barry sighed, his head in his hands. Of course, he could do the complete opposite and not tell her anything at all, have her think that the Scientist was just wasting her time. He could call her as Just Barry Allen, not Barry Allen The Scientist, and he would tell her that he wanted to be with her, and – and then it would end like all his other relationships ended because they ended up thinking either he was a liar or he was crazy, or both.

_Call her._

_Don’t call her._

_Just_ call _her_.

 _Do not_ -

“Barry.”

He almost fell out of his desk chair. “What the – Oliver? What are you doing here? I thought you all went back to Star City.”

Oliver Queen strode into his lab, agitated, and ignored him. “Where are all the files from the time we met last year?”

“Corner shelf, bottom row. Now, you mind telling me what you’re doing in my lab on a Sunday?”

“Well, I got into your apartment to find these files-”

“You broke into my apartment?”

“Of course not. I have the keys.”

“Oliver, what the hell is going on?”

Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Everything. My mother’s trial is going to hell in a handbasket and Laurel is killing herself trying to fix it. Of course, this is the moment that Isabel Rochev-”

“The lady who’s helping you run it while your mom’s in prison?”

“’Helping’ might be a bit of a stretch. She’s decided to hold a board meeting to get rid of me _and_ my mother and make herself acting CEO, so I had to come here to shore up some allies with Felicity before the meeting next week. Plus, that drug that was in Tommy Holland’s system? Yeah, that’s somehow made it into general circulation. And then there’s the new vigilante…” He sighed again. “Just – where are the files, Barry? I need to get the formula for the antidote that you made, so we can begin working on a cure.”

Barry looked at him. “Oliver, the drug in Tommy Holland’s system was a strain of what you had, not the same version. It’s a lot more potent.”

“Damn it – alright, just give it to me anyway, I’m sure we can find something.”

Barry found the files and handed them to him; he started rifling through them immediately. “If there’s anything I can do-”

“You’re doing it, Barry, so – Wait. What’s the matter with you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You have that ‘kicked puppy’ expression on your face.”

“This is just my face.”

“Barry.”

Barry sighed, rubbing the back of his neck and turning away. “Just…You know how you have that dark part of you? That ‘I was marooned on a desert island’ thing?”

Oliver laughed shortly, still rifling. “I’m aware of that, yes.”

“How do you…share that with people? The people you love?”

Oliver stopped and looked at him. “This is about Iris, isn’t it?”

Barry nodded and Oliver put the box down. “I thought so. Listen, Barry…There are some things that we can share with people, that come as easy as breathing, but there are some that don’t. I don’t tell my mother that I can’t sleep when it’s raining because my body still thinks that’s when the mercenaries on the island will choose to attack. Thea makes me coconut-flavoured cookies because they’re her favourite thing to bake, and I don’t tell her that I can’t eat them because they were Shado’s favourite fruit on the island and she bled to death in front of me. They won’t be able to handle seeing me like that, in that light, and I won’t be able to…to _live_ with myself if I knew that was the way they were always looking at me.” He paused and shrugged. “It’s better to stay like this, to keep pretending, because the alternative is much worse.”

Barry nodded, a little hollow, and Oliver put a hand on his shoulder. “I know that’s probably not what you wanted to hear.”

“No, it…it’s fine.”

“Sometimes the truth just causes you and everyone you love pain. Pain that can be avoided. There’s no shame if you can’t let that out of you.” Oliver sighed. “Sometimes guys like us don’t get the happy ending.”

“No shame. Right.”

***

Iris stood outside of CCPD for the second time in three days on Monday morning, biting her lip. She had been standing out here for so long that Detective Chyre had seen her and asked whether she was going in as he left for the day.

“Is Barry around?”

“Yeah, he’s upstairs in his lab.”

Barry hadn’t called.

She had waited all Sunday for him to call, and he hadn’t. She had contemplated calling him herself, but she had talked herself out of it. First of all, the ball was firmly in his court, since she had pretty much told him how she felt the day before, and he had promised to call her. Second, she didn’t really want to seem desperate (even if it maybe kinda was not a complete lie), especially because he seemed to be incredibly busy with something and she didn’t want to bother him.

She wondered what was so important.

So, anyway, now she was here. Because it was completely plausible (and honestly, knowing Barry this was exactly what had happened) that he’d just forgotten. She had hoped, though, that given the look on his face when he was holding her hand and kissed her on the cheek that she was important to him.

Oh, well. She was here, right? And he always made time for her, even when he had lots of work to do.

“Iris,” Barry said once she had walked into his lab. He finished pinning something to his board and walked back to his desk. “You’re here.”

“I’m here.”

Iris frowned. Barry just nodded and kept walking around his lab. “Uh, did you need something? Because I kind of have a crime scene to get to…”

“Oh. No, I that’s cool, I just, um…Well, we talked on Saturday, and you said you’d call yesterday, and you…didn’t.”

Barry nodded, not looking at her, as he packed up his stuff. “Uh-huh.”

Iris’ frowned deepened and she walked up to him. “Barry, did I do something wrong? Are you mad at me?”

“Why would I be mad at you?”

“I don’t know, but I’m standing here talking to you, and you won’t _look_ at me-” Iris broke off, hurt, when she reached up to touch his shoulder and he pulled away. “Bar, what’s the matter?”

“Nothing’s the matter, Iris.”

“Then what-”

Barry was looking everywhere but at her face. “I just don’t think that we should – I don’t think it would work if we became more than friends.”

Iris blinked at him. “You…don’t?”

“Everything’s fine the way it is,” Barry shrugged, giving her a bland smile. “Why change anything, right?”

“But you said-”

“I know what I said, Iris,” he interrupted, going back to his papers. “I guess I changed my mind.”

Ignoring the shard of ice that had somehow lodged in her chest, she studied his face. “No, you didn’t.”

“What?”

“You’re lying.”

“No, I’m not,” he said, still not looking at her.

“Yes, you are. You’re lying to me, Barry Allen,” Iris said, feeling her throat start to ache. She swallowed, once, before she started crying. “What the hell happened?”

“Nothing happened, Iris. I told you, I changed my mind-”

“Barry, I swear to-”

“Allen, do you need a new watch or something?” Captain Singh barked as he marched into the room. “I told you – Oh, Iris. Look, I’m sorry, but we really need Barry for this crime scene-”

“No, it’s fine,” Iris said, shoving her hands in her pockets. “Actually, I think we’re done here. Right, Barry?”

Barry was studying his shoes. “Right.”

And this time, as Iris strode out, she was the one not looking at him.

***

Barry Allen was an idiot.

That was what Iris decided on her way back to CCPN so she could help Linda prepare for the TV spot. Mason would be in the background and the interns would be the ones helping Linda write the questions, but Linda was going to be the one doing the interviews. And Iris thought that her best friend would take one look at her face and realise what was going on, but that was until she got back to find Linda and Mason yelling in his office, bits of the conversation filtering through the glass. Everyone was gathered around instead of doing work. So she wiped her eyes and tried to inject some energy into herself because if she didn’t she’d start crying and she wouldn’t be able to stop-

 “…entitled, spoiled, stuck-up-” Linda snarled.

“Oh, crap,” Chris breathed.

“… tell Mr Holland and his lawyers that we will be shoving their ‘helpful suggestions’ where the sun doesn’t fucking shine!” Mason snapped.

“Chris, Steph,” Iris said as she walked up to the interns, who were sat outside with notebooks in their hands. “What’s going on? Why are they yelling?”

“Tommy Holland’s people wanted to vet the questions and they keep rejecting them all,” Steph replied. She shared a look with Chris. “I don’t know, I thought they were good questions-”

“…even _dare_ trying to tell me how to do my job…”

“They _are_ good questions,” Todd, one of the senior staff writers, said. “Couldn’t have written them better myself. Show her, Steph.”

Iris scanned the list. “You’re right. Polite, non-confrontational, but firm and no room for half-answers.”

“But apparently that’s too much for Hotshot Holland,” Tess muttered, shaking her head. “Hey, Iris, you okay?”

 _Do not cry_. “Hm?” she said. “Oh no, I’m fine.”

“You sure? Your eyes look kinda red.”

Iris gave a cheery smile that almost hurt her face, shrugging. “Allergies.”

Linda came out of the room then, her cheeks flushed, and Mason followed with a thunderous expression on his face. Chris cleared his throat. “So, uh, did we get where?”

Linda’s scoffed. “Where we got was a vanilla interview with a two-faced, stuck-up, steroid-taking piece of-”

“We’re working on it,” Mason interrupted. “We thought we’d take a break to let everyone calm down and come back to the discussion with clear heads. Take a break, all of you. Park, can you go for a coffee run or something? I want a donut and I think we could all use a pick-me-up.”

“Sure, sure.”

Everyone yelled out their orders and Iris meandered back to her desk in a sort of numb daze until Linda looked at her. “Iris.”

“Yeah?” she said, that false brightness back.

“What happened?”

“What do you mean?”

But Iris West had never been able to lie to Linda Park, so she just looked at her with those steely brown eyes and, not moving from her desk, said, “Mason, Iris is coming with me.”

“Whatever. Just don’t stay out too long, I’m hungry.”

It took them all of the ten-minute walk to Jitters for Iris to remember the crushing ice in her at the way Barry had dismissed her and been cold to her and lied to her, at the way he had been so _not Barry_ , and then she was telling Linda everything.

“He was just so _weird_ ,” she swallowed again, because she wasn’t going to fucking cry, damn it. “I don’t know what I did or what I said or-”

“I’ll kill him.”

“Lin-”

“I will _kill_ him. I don’t even – what is that supposed to – I’m going to kill him.” She squeezed her friend’s hand. “Iris, I’m so sorry, I never thought he’d start acting like this. Did he tell you why?”

Iris just barked out a laugh through her tears. “He said that he changed his mind. Whatever the hell that means.”

Linda frowned and Iris stood up. “Look, do you mind covering for me for Mason? I don’t think I’m going to-”

“Of course,” she said firmly. “And I’ll be by tonight, okay?”

“No, Lin-”

“Shut up. My evening will either be looking after you or killing Barry – this involves much less blood.”

So Iris went home. And she would have been fine, she really would have, but then she got to her desk and she saw the picture from the karaoke night that someone had taken on her, the one where she and Barry where in the middle surrounded by everyone and even though everyone else was around them all she could think about that night was that Barry had his arm around her waist. But she took one look at that picture and the tears that had been working their way up her throat since she’d seen Barry’s face as he pulled away from her finally spilled out. She shoved a hand over her mouth as a choking sob escaped her, and that was how Linda found her in her bed hours later.

Inexplicably, Iris kept blaming the whole thing on the Scientist. She had been beyond irritated that he’d tricked her and then wasted her time like that, but she had consoled herself because at least she was going to see Barry the next day. And then that had gone to hell. She’d never done that before, agreed to meet someone from her blog, and now for some reason her mind kept linking the two together, that the reason Barry had done a complete one-eighty on her was because she’d messed up the status quo that she’d set up with the universe when she decided to keep her identity secret.

That was what she got for changing her mind.

***

Barry couldn’t get her face out of his head.

It was the end of the day and he was at STAR Labs and he had all these quizzes to grade and he couldn’t get Iris’ face out of his head.

And he’d done that to her.

He had looked at her and been cold to her and lied to her, because he wasn’t strong enough to tell her the truth of himself, so he’d pushed her away. His hands were shaking just thinking about it. Which was a nice piece of irony, because the look Iris had given him was like she never wanted to see him again.

“Barry?”

“Yeah?”

Vera frowned at him from across the table in the cafeteria. “You okay?”

“Peachy.”

“You sure?”

“I’m perfect, Vera,” he replied. “Just perfect.”

“Oh. Great!” she replied, though she still sounded kind of uncertain. “So, all the kids were asking about Iris today.”

“Uh-huh.”

“They want her to come visit.”

“I don’t think that’s going to happen?”

“You don’t?”

“Well, that was the last part of the article,” he shrugged. “Interviewing you and me and the kids and Dr Wells.”

Vera blinked. “I know. But I thought – well, because you and Iris-”

“There’s nothing going on between me and Iris, Vera,” he said quietly. “She’s just a friend from work.”

And he was pretty certain that she would have kept prodding him and he really didn’t want her to because he could feel his patience wearing thin and she didn’t deserve to be snapped at. But then what looked like half the scientists at STAR Labs came into the cafeteria, and almost all of them were screaming at each other. “What’s going on?” Vera frowned.

“No idea – hey, Caitlin! Ronnie!”

Both of them walked over, their expressions tight and drawn. “What’s happening?”

“…got your degree from a pet shop in Peru…”

“Yeah? Better than the barn you got yours from…”

“Staff meeting went to hell,” Ronnie said, sitting down. “Believe me, this is the peaceful half.”

“It’s the opening day,” Caitlin explained. “Some people think that we should change the date of two weeks on Friday to turn it on-”

“And the rest of us think that we should keep it,” Ronnie interrupted. Barry looked between them. From the looks on their faces, it was clear that they didn’t agree.

“Why would anyone want to change it?”

“Because the meteorological reports indicate that the atmosphere will be incredibly unstable on the date that we’ve chosen,” Caitlin explained, and Ronnie sighed.

“Cait, the modifications we made won’t allow for any kind of breach-”

“We’re using the same material we used last year, and that’s exactly what happened – _and_ we got a lightning storm.”

“It was a _small_ lightning storm, and no one was injured.”

“People died, Ronnie.”

“Guys,” Vera interjected, giving her diary a harrowed look. “Do you know if they’re seriously considering changing this? Because we have press coming that day, it’s taken us months to get permission to take the kids out of school early-”

“They’re deciding whether to change to a more robust metal compound,” Caitlin said, and Ronnie gave her another exasperated look.

“You’re beginning to sound like Hartley.”

“Maybe Hartley was right.”

Ronnie and Caitlin glared at each other, and then Ronnie got up and left, saying that maybe he should go back and look at the specifications if everyone thought that what he and Cisco had done was going to get them all killed. Around them, the argument raged on.

“Why don’t you shove it up there _with the stick in your ass_!”

“ _Two-faced_ -”

Vera and Barry shared a look as they devolved into more colourful language. “Well. Are _you_ having a good day, at least?”

“Oh yeah,” he muttered, thinking of Iris’ hurt face and the growing pit in his stomach. “The best.”

***

And it only got worse from there.

He got through the next few days by rewarding himself. There, he’d gone five whole minutes without thinking about Iris, so now he could get a cappuccino. Fifteen minutes, lunch break. Twenty minutes-

“ _Barry_.”

“Huh?” he said. “Oh, sorry, Captain.”

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” he said, rubbing his eyes and not disclosing the fact that he’d gotten no sleep since Saturday and now it was Wednesday. “What did you need?”

“I need the analysis on the habits done and on my desk by the time I get back,” he said. “And Eddie has some more for you when you’re done.”

“Great.”

But then when he went down about an hour later, he found Eddie by himself in the office at his desk, his phone in his hand at his side and his body turned towards the window. “Hey, Eddie. Singh says you have some stuff for me?” But Eddie didn’t move and Barry frowned. “Eddie? You okay?”

His friend was pale and very still, his blue eyes glassy. Barry grabbed his shoulder, dread growing in him. “Eddie. What happened?”

“It – Bette,” he whispered. “Her unit was hit by a bomb and now they can’t find her. I don’t-” Eddie let out a breath. “Barry, I can’t – God, I can’t _breathe_ , I can’t-”

Oh, God. Not Bette, not sweet, kind _Bette_ \- “Eddie, sit down, okay? I’ll call Captain Singh and tell him that you need to go home, and – you want me to drive you? I’ll drive you. Do you want me to call someone else? Your mom, or-”

Eddie shook his head, shaking. “She lives in Keystone,” he said hoarsely. “The only people I have here are Bette and Joe and Iris and Linda. Could you call them? It’s the end of the day, almost, I’m sure they can…” he trailed off, his head in his hands, and Barry put a hand on his shoulder. He swallowed but nodded. “Yeah, sure. I’ll…I’ll do that.”

Eddie handed him his phone and Barry dialled Iris’ number (which he had memorised. Because he was an idiot). She picked up on the third ring. “Hey, pretty boy,” she answered cheerfully. “What’s up?”

Barry stood for a minute, savouring the fact that her voice was kind and sweet and not at all disappointed in him. He could imagine her smiling, reclining in her desk chair and making eye contact with Linda so they could both make fun of Eddie on the phone, and his heart constricted.

“Eddie? You okay, honey?”

“It’s me, Iris.”

She paused and when she spoke again it was like the temperature dropped. “Why do you have Eddie’s phone? Did something happen?”

“I need to call her parents,” Eddie whispered hollowly next to him.

“It’s Bette,” he replied. “She – Her unit got hit by a bomb and-”

“Oh my God,” she breathed. “No, God, not _Bette_ …Eddie, is he – Where is he?”

“Here’s here, he’s with me. He wants you and Linda-”

“We’ll be there in minute.”

Iris hung up and Barry turned his attention back to Eddie, who was having a panic attack. “Eddie, put her head between your knees and breathe, alright?” he ordered, rubbing his friend’s back. “Slowly. In, out, in, out. There you go.”

They sat like that for a few minutes and Barry got him some water before calling Joe, who told Captain Singh that Eddie needed to leave. He stayed with Eddie and talked with him, assuring him that things like this happened all the time and that they would find Bette, and that was how Iris and Linda found them, alone in the middle of the precinct.

 “Eddie, God, I’m so sorry,” Linda said, racing up to him and hugging him. He noticed that Iris had gone straight to Eddie’s desk without looking at him and started packing it up. “We’re gonna take you home, okay? I’ll look after you and Iris will call Liz.”

“I can call Bette’s parents too, if you want,” Iris added, but Eddie shook his head.

“No, I can do that. Barry, the case-”

“Don’t worry about work, Eddie,” Barry interrupted. “We can manage. Go home, alright? Keep me posted about Bette and let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

He nodded. “Thanks, Barry.” Linda led him off and Barry was left alone with Iris. “Damn it,” she muttered.

“Do you, um, do you want some help?”

“No, thank you.” Then she let out a frustrated noise. “Do you know where his house keys are?”

“Middle drawer,” Barry answered, and Iris opened it, got the keys, and shut it with a loud bang. Then she scooped up his jacket and surveyed the desk, pausing at the picture of Bette and Eddie, dressed to go to a military ball. Barry rubbed at his eyes because he was the one who had taken that picture, and Eddie still bragged about how Bette was the most beautiful woman in the room.

“I never thought it would happen to Bette,” he said quietly. Iris let out a breath.

“Yeah, well, sometimes life throws you a dirty bomb and expects you to deal with it.”

Barry was still staring at the door long after she left.

***

“How is he?”

“The same. He’s eating all the casseroles Linda keeps bringing over there, which is good, but…”

Felicity sighed. “But they found her, right?”

“Yeah, they found her,” Iris said as they walked out of Jitters. Iris and Linda had taken Eddie home and then stayed with him until his mother arrived. Then Liz had called them both to say that Bette was alive but that she had shrapnel in her body, and that she was being flown back stateside as soon as she was stable so that they could operate.

“Is he still at home?”

“Yeah. I sent Wally over to cheer him up and Cisco’s there too, but I don’t know how much help they’ll be.”

“Why not?”

“Well, they’ve gotten like, no sleep this week. Cisco’s been helping Wally with his senior project and one of the generators at the university broke, which has apparently set them back weeks because his supervisor also has pneumonia. Wait, Felicity, where are we going? I thought you were meeting Oliver at the train station.”

“I am,” she said absently. “I just need to say goodbye to your dad and pick something up from Barry.”

Iris ignored the little stab she felt at the mention of his name. She still hadn’t figured out what had changed between them, but she was trying very hard to convince herself that she didn’t care.

She wasn’t doing a very good job.

They arrived at the precinct to find it busy and tense, and they looked around in confusion. “What the – Dad? Dad, what’s going on?”

Joe sighed and walked over to them. “Hey, girls. The nuns got lawyers.”

“They got _lawyers_?” Iris and Felicity repeated.

“They got lawyers. The DA’s going out of her mind trying to figure this out and make sure the investigation isn’t closed.”

“This really is the week from hell,” Felicity muttered.

“I’ll say,” Iris agreed.

“Just another day in Central,” Joe said. “What brings you both by?”

“Well, I wanted to say goodbye to you, Joe,” she said, hugging him tightly, and he smiled.

“Have a good trip, baby girl. Say hi to your mom for me.”

“Is it okay that I want to adopt you and make you my dad?”

“No,” Iris answered. “Dad is _everyone’s_ dad. Including Captain Singh’s.”

Felicity grinned and pulled back. “And Barry, Oliver wants something from Barry. Is he here?”

“He should be around here somewhere…Barry, there you are. Hey, I gotta go help Patty. Bye, Felicity. Bye, baby,” he said, kissing Iris on the cheek.

“Bye,” they all said, and Felicity looked up at Barry. “So, I guess you heard about everything going to hell over in Star City.”

“Well, when the Arrow breaks into your lab to demand all your stuff, you kind of catch on.”

Felicity laughed and glanced at Iris, and then noticed that she wasn’t looking at Barry. And that he wasn’t looking at her. She narrowed her eyes. “You guys okay?”

“Fine,” they said, and Iris cleared her throat.

“Anyway, I have to go back to work and make sure that Mason doesn’t kill the interns, the interns don’t kill each other, and Linda doesn’t kill herself. Todd and Tess just texted me that he is literally breathing fire.” She pulled her into a hug. “Bye, pretty girl.”

“Bye, babydoll.”

***

As soon as Iris strode off, Felicity turned to Barry, who was staring after Iris with the saddest expression on his face. “Barry.”

He looked at her quickly and rubbed the back of his neck. “Hm? Oh, yeah. Oliver, right.”

“You idiot. Linda was right, you _idiot_. I – come with me.”

She dragged him up to his lab and pulled the door shut. “What did you do?”

“What?”

“Iris is mad and you’re sad. What did you do?”

Barry hunched his shoulders and folded his arms. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Felicity walked up to him, her arms folded. “Barry, if Iris is upset, then that means Linda knows. And then Wally will know. And then Joe will know, and he has a gun. What’s going on, big guy?”

He looked at Felicity, at her big blue eyes behind her glasses, and sighed. “So, you know how True North got those people out of jail last week?”

Felicity nodded, her face strangely impassive, and Barry knew right then that she knew Iris’ secret. “And do you happen to know that it’s Iris, by any chance?”

“That is brand new information…that I’ve known for eight years. Okay, you know Iris is True North. What does that have to do with anything?”

“Well, I thought I would contact True North and ask her help for getting my dad out of prison. And she said yes.”

Felicity’s eyes widened. “She did? Wow. I mean, Iris won’t even tell her brother or Eddie and she makes me update her firewall every month.”

Barry nodded. “Well, apparently Iris and I go way back, but I didn’t know that it was her. She told me to look for the woman with a purple flower in her hair when we met. So I get to the walkway and I see her, and…I couldn’t do it.”

“Couldn’t do what?”

Barry laughed bitterly. “Felicity, how was I supposed to just walk up to Iris, who’s been kidnapped by the same murderer who murdered her best friend, who got bribed and terrorised by murderers, to get a convicted murderer out of prison?”

Felicity sighed. “Barry, I know that must be hard, but you know Iris has done the whole ‘believing in the impossible’ thing since she was a teenager, right?”

He walked away from her, rubbing his head with his hands. “I know that, I know, but-”

“Well, then, what is it?” she frowned. “Because you’re kind of treating her like shit right now.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Why isn’t it simple?” she demanded.

“ _Because I was supposed to be perfect for her_!” Barry exploded, his voice throbbing with the pain that he had been hiding for the past fourteen years. “I was – It’s _Iris_. I wanted to be perfect with her, for her, I wanted to be _good_! Everyone, _everyone_ I have ever met, as soon as they find this out about me, I can never change the way they look at me, and I’m fucking sick of it! You and Oliver and Dig and Lacey and Jessica, and – it’s not your fault and I don’t even blame you, but I just wanted _one person_ not to! I didn’t want her to see me like this, I didn’t…” He trailed off, defeated. “It’s Iris. I wanted to be perfect for her.”

Felicity approached him as he was standing there, breathing hard and shaking, and rubbed his back. “Barry, sweetie, is that what you think? You think Iris wants you to be perfect?”

“I wanted Iris to see me normal. It didn’t matter if True North thought I was crazy-”

“But Iris is True North,” Felicity realised, “and you didn’t want her to see anything but normal Barry.”

“It’s Iris.”

“It is Iris,” she agreed. She sighed and took off her glasses to clean them. “Did I ever tell you about my freshman year of college?”

Barry stared at her. “Are you choosing this moment to tell me the Hoboken story?”

“No, of course not. Um, I was part of a hacktivist group, and I was dating this guy in it. And he turned out to be a really bad guy and he ended up leaving school. And leaving town. And maybe the state. I don’t know, we never cleared that up. But then I started getting these weird emails and my computer wasn’t doing what I said and it turned out that he was stalking me.”

Barry blinked. “You were stalked?”

“I was,” she replied carefully, putting her glasses back on. “And I turned into a recluse. I stopped going to classes, I stopped talking to my friends, I stopped everything. And that was when I met Iris. And she did that annoying Iris thing where she worms her way into your life even though you were changing the locks and telling her to stay the fuck away and to _stop playing Beyoncé_. And we were friends. Kind of. So when Cooper came back and tried to kill me if I didn’t destroy America with a supervirus, there was someone else in the room to make sure that didn’t happen.” She paused, looking at him, as he wrapped his arms around himself and hunched his shoulders. “Barry, I know – I _know_ how hard it is to tell the people we love the worst parts about ourselves, but I promise you it’s better. It’s the only way we grow. Just try, okay?”

He stared at the floor. “I know that, logically, I know that, but – I’m scared and-”

“I know, it’s okay to be scared.”

“And Oliver said-”

“Oliver? Felicity asked, all softness gone. “You talked to Oliver about this?”

“Yeah…”

“Did he give you advice? Did he give you a speech? ‘I was stranded on a dessert island for five years and now I can’t eat cookies in the rain and I can never love again, woe is me?’”

“…there maybe have been a little woe.”

“ _Oy_!” Felicity snapped, frustrated. “He is _not supposed to give people advice_! I will kill him, I will _kill_ him. No, I’ll get Laurel to do it, she’d better at that than me. Barry, please, just talk to Iris.”

“What if she’s mad at me? What if – she might hate me.”

“She could never hate you and she’ll definitely be mad at you, but that won’t last forever. But avoiding her even though you’re clearly in love with her can’t be good for anyone, can it?” She glanced at her watch. “Look, I have to go, but call me, okay?”

“Okay,” he whispered. He rubbed his face again. “I just don’t want her to hate what she sees.”

“Well, you gotta let her see you first.”

He did manage to pluck up the courage to call her later, though, at his apartment. He called once, twice, three times, until he realised that he’d actually managed to push her away. She didn’t pick up once.

Maybe this was what he got for changing his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> told you y'all would hate me. thanks for reading, liking and commenting, but if i get hate or nasty comments, i'm just going to delete them. you're all lovely but this chapter was probably the hardest i had to write and i'm very sensitive about it, and i'm aware that it might upset people. alternatively i might just be overreacting ;) *runs away to write Say Hello to Miss Miracle*


	19. Can I Say It Now?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Barry and Iris put their cards on the table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think you've all been waiting for this. Warning: contains angst. And kissing. And angsty kissing.

 

Barry Allen was an idiot.

Still.

This was what Iris West had decided in order to get through her days. It had been a couple of weeks since whatever was supposed to happen between them hadn’t happened, and she was fine. She as putting the finishing touches on her article and ignoring or evading Mason when he asked who she was dedicating it to, she was helping Linda with her TV appearance, which would be about a week after the Particle Accelerator turned on, and she was looking for leads for her blog. She was fine.

 _Fine_.

Also, Barry Allen was an idiot.

Iris walked quickly to work as she sipped the coffee that Wally had given her, resisting the urge to check her phone to see whether Barry had called again. He’d called at least five times that week and it was only Wednesday, and now every time he texted her it was short sentences like ‘Can we talk?’ or ‘Iris, please’, but she was remaining strong in her resolve. Or rather, Linda was. She’d gotten Felicity to do this weird thing where whenever he texted or called her, Linda would know, and then she’d convince her not to call him back. Which was fine, because she didn’t want to do that. It was fine.

Her lunch break was still going on when she got back – she usually left later but that meant she’d probably run into Barry, since they always coordinated so they got coffee together – so CCPN had slowed considerably. People were dawdling by each other’s desks as they ate donuts and sipped coffee. In fact, Mason was doing all three when she got back. On her desk. As usual.

“West,” he grumbled through pastry and powdered sugar. “How are you?”

“I’m fine, Mase,” she replied, switching her computer back on. “How are you?”

“I’m okay. I’d be better, of course, since the Particle Accelerator is turning on or lighting up or having a baby or whatever it’s supposed to do next Friday, and I still don’t have a final draft of your article, and-”

“It’s going to print on Sunday and we have to get it in soon because it’s a big fancy editorial and you had to get Tim to get the good paper for the printing,” Iris finished. “Yeah, you may have told me that. A few times.”

“So why don’t I have it?”

Iris didn’t think that telling him she was dawdling because she still hadn’t written the dedication for her article even though she said she’d do it weeks ago. That was because she’d already secretly been writing a beautifully planned dedication to Barry that she was kind of looking forward to showing him. But then he had decided that He Was An Idiot, and now they weren’t going to be anything more than two people who knew each other from work, and the dedication wouldn’t exactly work anymore, would it? So she was going to dedicate it to the entire STAR Labs crew, since she loved them anyway and they were her friends. But then it still felt like a slap in the face to have Barry essentially be the whole reason she could even talk about science and then not have him be in the dedication.

Iris closed her eyes briefly against the wave of sadness mixed with disappointment and misery that happened whenever she thought about Barry. Barry Allen was an idiot. Iris was fine. Though she was a little mad at Mason for bringing him up, since she’d managed to go a whole two hours without thinking about Barry Allen and his stupidly pretty green eyes. She opened her eyes and smiled brightly. “Because you don’t expect anything but perfection, boss, and you know I always aim to please.”

Mason huffed in irritation but moved on to Tess, the environmental writer, which meant that he was in a good mood and that her excuse had sufficed for now. But now she was thinking about Barry, and she knew despite herself that she wouldn’t be able to her work because of it.

Iris didn’t know what he wanted, but she did know that she was tired of being messed around. First the sex, which was mind-blowing but then they’d decided to be friends, then they got so ridiculously close that Iris found it hard to accept she was falling for one of her closest friends, and then he said he wanted to be more than friends, and then he changed his mind, and now he was saying that he wanted to talk. Barry Allen wasn’t just An Idiot, Barry Allen was An Idiot Who Was Giving Her Whiplash.

So she didn’t call him back, even though it was getting harder to ignore the part of her that wanted to. She had enough self-respect that she didn’t want to deal with Barry’s ever-changing feelings. Plus, it was easy to avoid him when you had a best friend like Linda guarding you from making stupid decisions like drinking lots of cheap wine and then drunk-dialling him in tears to demand what the fuck was wrong with him.

Didn’t stop her from checking her messages, though.

Iris worked for a few hours and then ducked out early – she was taking a casserole to Eddie at the station and she wanted to catch him before he went home. Even though the captain had given Eddie as much time off as he wanted before Bette’s surgery the following Friday, he was coming into work to tie up some stuff. She took the casserole out of the communal fridge, eternally grateful that she’d remembered to put a note on it so that nobody ate it and they didn’t have a repeat of the Debacle of Mason’s Spicy Lasagne. She wanted to keep her staff privileges, thanks.

The station was in complete chaos when she got there, but then, she was used to that by now. According to Wally, they were on the verge of a breakthrough with the Sun Dial Church case, which meant that with the shakeups in personnel that happened when she moved back from Gotham, the fact that everyone still had cases to figure out, and the fact that Eddie was gone, everyone was incredibly busy and incredibly stressed. Iris was almost run over at least twice as she walked into the precinct, and one of them was by her father running out of the precinct with Chyre hot on his heels.

“Hey, pretty boy,” she said warmly as she walked up to his desk, the casserole in hand. She gave her a small smile as she looked through some files, still in his civilian clothes.

“Ladybird,” he greeted her. He eyes the casserole and gave a small groan, still smiling. “What is it this time?”

“Mediterranean vegetables with lamb,” Iris answered, peering under the dish, “if I remember correctly.”

“Good to see Linda’s still cooking when she’s worried.”

“She’s just worried about Bette. We both are. And we’re worried about _you_.” She sat on his desk and patted his hair. “Are you taking care of yourself? I know Liz went back to Keystone this week. Maybe I can come over and eat that casserole with you?”

But Eddie shook his head. “It’s okay, Iris, I know how busy you and Lin are, and that’s why you haven’t come around as much.”

Yeah. Nothing to do with Barry. “What, you’ve got better friends now?”

“No,” he laughed. “Actually, Barry’s coming over tonight. He’s been a big help.”

Iris’ heart constricted again at the mention of his name, but she continued like nothing had changed. _Barry Allen was an idiot_. “Really? I thought he’d be as busy as the rest of the guys here.”

“He is,” Eddie shrugged. He glanced around. “I mean, there he is right now, explaining his reports to Patty, and he doesn’t even need to, but he does all of that and then helps me afterwards.”

Iris turned to look, and then her heart was in her throat when she saw that Patty was indeed talking to Patty, sitting on the edge of her desk like she was sitting on Eddie’s. He was explaining something, his expression intense and engaged, his gestures wide and swooping. She watched, despite herself, as Eddie went on about what a great guy Barry was, how thoughtful and kind and sincere, and all she could think about was the way he’d coldly rejected her in his lab three weeks ago. Suddenly Barry said something and both he and Patty laughed, and she had an overwhelming urge to knock both of their heads together. Maybe that would stop the tendrils of dread and jealousy that seemed to be snaking out from her core. She turned back to Eddie.

“Well, I’m happy someone’s looking after you.”

“Me too,” he replied. He held up a file. “Anyway, I’m done here, I just need to give this to him. He’s been a weird mood for a couple of weeks, but maybe seeing you will cheer him up, right?” He raised his voice before she could protest. “Hey, Barry! Got a sec?”

Barry looked over, spotted Iris, and froze for just a second, blinking. “S-Sure.” He finished up with Patty and walked over to them, decidedly much less animated than he was before. “Hey, Barry. This is all great, thank you.”

“You understand everything?”

“Perfectly.”

“Good. Great.” He looked at Iris. “Uh. H-Hi, Iris.”

She nodded. “Barry. So, pretty boy, I guess I’ll see you later, okay?”

She hugged him goodbye quickly, ignoring the confused look on his face, and was almost out of the precinct when she got stuck behind a load of delivery men hauling in several crates. Her heart sank when she felt someone tap her shoulder. “Iris.”

“Barry.”

He swallowed. “I – How are you? How’s your day?”

“Fine, thank you.”

“Good. That’s good. So, um,” Barry said, rubbing the back of his neck, “I don’t know if you got my messages, or-”

“I’ve been kind of busy,” she said. “With the article and everything.”

“Of course,” he said immediately. “Of course, the article, I’m sorry.”

Iris hated it that he always sounded so sincere. She felt like he truly _wanted_ to know how her day was, and was genuinely sorry that she was so busy with the article. But as she’d come to know, even she couldn’t read his signals.

“But anyway,” Barry continued, “if you – when you have time, uh, I-”

“Sure,” she interrupted again. “If I have time. But right now, I don’t so…”

She turned to leave but Barry grabbed her arm, the sensation sending heat through her body. She twisted around to face him. “Iris,” he said softly. “ _Please_.”

Iris swallowed and avoided his eyes, because she knew that if she looked at his face right then she would break, and she’d already been so strong until now. She gently removed his hand. “Sorry, Barry. You’re not the only one who can change their mind.”

She walked out of the precinct, listing in her head all the ways that he was an idiot so she didn’t have to look at the quietly devastated expression on his face that was quickly burning itself into her memory. Barry Allen Was An Idiot Because He Sent Out Mixed Signals, and He Did Not Know What He Wanted, and He Was a (Bad) Liar. But then number one reason Barry freaking Allen was an idiot?

Barry Allen was an idiot for making her love him – and she was an idiot because no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t seem to stop.

***

Barry watched Iris leave, biting his lip, and Eddie walked up to him. “What’s going on with you two?”

“Nothing,” Barry sighed. Which was the problem. “Nothing’s going on. I’ll be by later, alright? Is there anything you need?”

“I’m fine, Barry, but we’re talking about you. You’ve had that kicked puppy look on your face for almost three weeks, what’s up with you and Iris?”

Barry frowned. If Eddie didn’t know, then that means Linda and Felicity hadn’t told him. Then they probably hadn’t told Wally or Joe. And since two of the three men in her life had guns, that was at least some good news for Barry. But Eddie still didn’t know that Iris was True North, according to Felicity, so he wasn’t about to go around telling anyone. So he just shrugged. “Didn’t work out between us. Guess I’m not handling it very well. And this is just my face.”

Eddie frowned. “I – I’m sorry about that, Barry.”

“Yeah, me too,” he sighed. Then he frowned too as he realised what was in the crates as they were being brought in. “Are they-”

“Yes.”

“And the nuns had-”

“Yes.”

“But they’re-”

“I know.” Eddie rubbed his face. “I swear to God, this case gets weirder every day. Singh wants you to analyse them. You know, if you can.”

Barry made a noise in agreement before wishing Eddie goodbye and promising to be by later to keep him company. Bette was being flown back from Afghanistan tomorrow, so Barry didn’t want him to be alone and thinking about that until he arrived. He knew everything about what had happened with Bette, and was determined to make sure that Eddie knew his fiancée was going to be alright, and that they were here for him. And at the very least, it helped to distract him from his own problems.

Iris wasn’t speaking to him. He’d tried calling her and texting her – everything short of showing up at her apartment, which he thought was a little too close to stalking, especially given how she currently felt about him – but nothing worked. He wasn’t sure exactly what to say to her other than he was sorry and that he wanted to talk to her, but obviously Iris didn’t think those were good enough excuses and was evidently done with him. He just didn’t think that the truth would be something that he could spell out in a text. Maybe he could write a letter – _Dear Iris,_ _I accidentally found out your secret identity while asking for True North to help get my convicted murderer father out of prison and I chickened out of meeting you because I can’t handle my own emotions. Can we talk? PS. I am also desperately in love with you so I’d appreciate a speedy reply. Yours sincerely, Barry Allen_.

Yeah. Probably wouldn’t work.

It certainly helped, the amount of work he had to do this week – both at the precinct and at the Particle Accelerator. The Sun Dial Church case had been driving him insane, what with all the new evidence that needed to be analysed, and he was beginning to feel more than ever the fact that he was essentially the only CSI there. Combined with the fact that the Particle Accelerator was turning on and all of the volunteers had been recruited to decorate and show people around before that happened, and it wasn’t surprising to see why Barry always collapsed, exhausted, into his bed around midnight every night these days.

Still, it wasn’t like nobody noticed the difference. He was either depressed, distracted, or irritated, the latter more often lately, and it was only luck and the fact that everyone was pretty much the same way that stopped him from getting fired.

“I think,” Caitlin said while they were at Jitters the next day, “that if you cut me open and did a blood test, I’d be seventy-five percent caffeine, twenty percent frustration, and five percent ‘desire to pitch myself off a roof’.”

Cisco, his head slumped on the table, murmured something incoherent. Ronnie was snoring, his arms folded, and Caitlin sighed tiredly, rubbing her eyes. “I think that was a ‘coffee, black’ for all of us.”

“Coming right up,” Barry smiled as he went up to get the order. If it was bad for him, it must have been hell for his friends. He didn’t even want to think about it was like for Dr Wells. But then Barry’s smile fell when he got to the counter as he recognised Wally. One of the reasons he could tell that neither Joe nor Wally knew was that he still had his kneecaps, but that didn’t mean Wally looked particularly happy to see him. “Barry. What can I get you?”

“Three black coffees to and one tea, please,” he said. Wally frowned.

“No coffee to go for you?”

“Nope, need to relax and think for a bit. I’ll probably get one to go when I leave, though.”

“Okay, Barry, coming right up.”

Barry frowned. “Why are you calling me Barry?”

Wally shrugged. “That’s your name, isn’t it?”

“…Oh. Yeah, sure.”

“It’s not a big deal. Things change.”

Barry sighed. “Yeah, I guess they do.”

He was left alone when his friends got their orders and headed back to STAR Labs, a little rejuvenated from the coffee, until Wally came back with two trays, one of which held his tea. “It’s my lunch break too,” he said by way of explanation. “Mind if I sit?”

“No. No, of course not,” Barry said, moving his stuff. He set about making his tea, pouring milk and stirring sugar, stopping only when he realised that Wally was staring at him, not even touching his own lunch. “Uh, you okay, Wally?”

But he just kept looking at him with that expression that was part curiosity and part…not anger, more like frustration. “You’re miserable.”

Barry sighed. “No, I’m not.”

“Yeah, you are. You have that kicked puppy look on your face.”

“This is just my face.”

“No, it isn’t. Usually you’ve got that nerdy, giddy CSI the Dork look on your face. You’re miserable, and so is my sister, and I want to know why.”

“It’s complicated.”

Wally stared at him for a minute, before rubbing his face and letting out a frustrated groan. Then he looked at Barry. “If you tell anyone anything I tell you today, I’m going to break both of your legs.”

“…Alright.”

“With a rusty hammer.”

“Noted.”

“And I’ll feed them to whatever it is that General Eiling has growing in the STAR Labs basement.”

“Wally, I – General Eiling has something growing in the STAR Labs basement?”

Wally waved a dismissive hand. “God-something? I don’t know, Bette and Cisco told me. That’s not the point. Don’t tell anyone what I’m about to tell you, understand?”

Barry nodded, still confused. “Okay.”

“You know how I feel about…” He cleared his throat. “About Linda, right?”

Barry’s face softened. “Yeah, Wally, I do. You’re in love with her.”

“If you tell anyone-”

“Wally, I’m pretty sure anyone who cares to look already knows. It’s kind of obvious.”

He sighed as she chewed his bagel. “Not to her. I’ve…God, I’ve been in love with her since I was eight – more than half my life. I still remember the first day Iris brought her to the house, on the first day of fifth grade. For her, I mean.” Wally was smiling now as he recalled the memory. “Linda had on this really pretty pink dress and her hair was in pigtails and she had a really great smile – and I didn’t even know what love was because, duh, I was eight, but I knew I loved her, and I have ever since.”

Barry stared at him. The way Wally was speaking…that was not the kind of love you just forgot. “Why haven’t you told her?”

“Well, Barry, I don’t know if you’ve ever met my sister,” Wally laughed, “but she can be pretty territorial around her friends. The first time I met Linda, Iris was throwing crayons at me for talking to her friend. Obviously we got over that, but then we met Eddie and then he was always over…I mean, Eddie and Linda are basically my family. It’s just that Linda’s never seen me as anything more than her best friend’s baby brother.”

It was hard to believe that brash, funny, confident Wally was carrying all of this around with him. In fairness, it was hard _not_ to love Linda – even though Barry knew for a fact that she probably wanted to kneecap him right about now. Wally ran a hand through his hair.

“Fifteen years,” he continued. “Fifteen years, I’ve only ever been in love with one girl, and yeah, maybe I’ll fall in love with someone else and get married and have lots of kids or whatever, but none of those girls will ever be _Linda_. And I’m telling you, Barry, the way you look at my sister is the way my dad’s always telling me I look at Linda. I don’t know what went on between you. And I’m not going to ask,” he added as Barry opened his mouth to speak, “because it’s none of my business. But whatever it is can’t be that bad, not if you love her as much as I think you do. The forever love.”

“Forever love,” Barry nodded, and then gave a short laugh. “Could we be more pathetic?”

“Yeah, we’re pretty pathetic. But,” Wally added as he took another bite of his bagel. “ _I_ could be more pathetic, but then I’m cooler than you. You’re already as pathetic as you can get.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. So, uh,” he said, wiping his hands, “what I’m saying is, just go for it. Try and fix it. You’re already in a better position than I am, and you can’t get any _more_ miserable, right?”

Barry smiled ruefully, folding his arms. “No, I guess not.”

“And Barry? The only reason I’m being so nice to you right now is because you seem as miserable as Iris is. If I find out that you’re just screwing around with my sister, I really am going to break both of your legs.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way, Wally.”

“Catch you later, CSI the Dork.”

***

Barry Allen was still an idiot. But couldn’t call her if she left her cell at home and went to her dad’s house for dinner, so at least she didn’t have to avoid her phone to prevent her resolve from breaking.

“…which is great, because that means I get one less engineering final,” Wally finished as he cleared up the plates.

“That’s great, dumbo,” Iris said. “I’m glad you and Cisco are having fun.”

Wally grinned at her. “Me too.”

“Isn’t that great, dad?”

But their father, who had managed to get his laptop open mere seconds after dinner was over, didn’t hear them. Iris leaned over and tapped him lightly on the shoulder and he started, pulling the headphones out of his ears. “What?”

“Dad, take a break,” Wally told him. “You’ve been working on that since you got back.”

“Well, apparently some of these nuns’ interviews are something else,” he said, pushing the laptop away. “We’re close, though, I can feel it. And stop looking at me like that,” he added, laughing. “This is an ongoing investigation.”

Iris laughed along with him, even though she had to remind herself that she couldn’t just ask Barry like she usually did. “I can’t wait until this comes out – maybe Mason will let one of us write about it for the paper.”

“You have to get the other one out first, ladybird,” Wally said. “Hey, have you talked to Barry today? I wanted to know if he could get me into the opening.”

Iris swallowed around the lump in her throat, shrugging. “I’m sure he could, if you asked. I haven’t spoken to him in a few weeks. I’ve been busy.” Iris looked down at her mug of cocoa then, so she didn’t notice that her father and Wally shared a look, and then her father mouthed, ‘I got it’.

Wally cleared his throat and Iris looked up again. “So, I’m gonna work on my project a little before bed.” He surprised Iris by kissing her on the cheek. “I’m glad you came by tonight, ladybird.”

“Thanks, Wally.”

Iris and her father ended up on the couch, curled up together watching old reruns of _That’s So Raven_ , and everything was fine until her father muted the TV and turned to her. “So, this mood of yours.”

“What mood?” Iris said warily. Her father could get blood from a stone when he put his mind to it, and she wasn’t so sure how strong her powers of resistance would be today.

“The one that’s putting this little dent in between your eyes,” he said playfully, pressing on the furrow between her brows.

“I don’t have a dent. Go away.”

“Does it have anything to do with why Barry’s been in such a miserable mood for weeks?”

“Barry Allen is an idiot,” Iris murmured, hugging her father close.

“I see.”

“An _idiot_.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“A bigger idiot than Wally after Great-Aunt Esther’s eggnog.”

“That big?”

Iris’ chin wobbled at her father’s comforting voice and she felt her throat burning. “He’s the worst.”

“I can see that.”

“And he…I…We never… _God_. I just – I love him, daddy. I love him, and he’s an _idiot_.”

Iris’ voice broke on that last word and she sobbed quietly into her father’s chest, and he patted her back and soothed her until she calmed down enough to talk. “Iris?”

“Yes?”

“You want me to shoot him?”

Iris giggled through her tears. “No.”

“You sure? I mean, he’s right there.”

“No, thank you.”

He sighed, stroking her hair. “You wanna tell me what happened?”

Iris laughed again. How would she begin to explain the complicated saga of Barry and Iris? “Well, we were friends, and it seemed like he wanted to be more. But then something changed and he ignored me for like a week, and now he wants to talk again and I’m just confused.”

“Well, honey, if he wants to talk, then why won’t you let him?”

“Because what if he changes his mind again?” Iris wanted to know. “I don’t get him, dad, I thought I did but I don’t. He’s lying to me about something, and I don’t know what it is, and I just don’t want to get hurt again.”

“I understand that,” he nodded. “But sometimes people keep secrets to keep themselves from getting hurt.”

“But what would he be keeping from me that would make him act so weird?”

“Barry is…” Joe paused. “Barry hasn’t had the best time, honey. And I can think of plenty of secrets that would make you act weird around people. Like, say, if you were an anonymous blogger who looked for strange cases and then sent them to the police.”

Iris froze. _You have got to be kidding me_. “Um. Well. Yeah. That’s, um, that’s a good secret.”

When she looked up at her father, he was smiling. “ _Dad_. You knew? How long have you known for?”

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-five.”

“Eight years.”

Iris stared at him in stark disbelief. “The _beginning_? Why didn’t you say anything? And why haven’t you killed me yet?”

He shrugged. “Why do you think I made you get those self-defence classes? And I wouldn’t let you go to college in National City or Metropolis, where all the aliens are?”

“Yeah, but you let me go to college in _Gotham_ ,” she pointed out, and he huffed.

“It was perfectly safe until the Joker shower up. Good thing he’s in prison now.”

Iris sighed, thinking of Harley. “Right.”

“I remember the first thing you looked for,” he said, smiling fondly. “The Rag Doll. Locked yourself in your room for two straight days – Iris, I knew good and damn well that sixteen-year-old girls are not reading books about hypnosis from the 1960s. Then you got all those people out of jail. I was so proud of you. My baby girl, solving cases all by herself.”

“But you wouldn’t let me become a cop.”

“I wasn’t letting you anywhere near a gun. Besides, Iris, if you wanted to become a cop, you would have become one with or without me. I think you found your calling. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to kick your ass when you go after serial killers or take on the Ventriloquist-”

“Wait a minute,” Iris interrupted, remembering something. “Is that why you made me clean the rain gutters the summer I got back from junior year of college?”

“She was a psychopath, Iris.”

“I _knew_ I was being punished for something – you don’t even clean the rain gutters!”

Her father just laughed. “When your kid is True North, you’ve gotta come up with creative punishments. What I’m saying, Iris, is that Barry may be an idiot – and you just say the word and I’ll shoot him – but maybe he’s being an idiot for a good reason.”

 _An idiot for a good reason_.

Iris was still thinking about what her father had said the next day as she dragged herself up the stairs to her apartment on Friday after work. She was still getting used to the idea that her father had known her secret identity for as long as she’d had it, but she was so exhausted from the week that her brain was just going, _Yeah, sure, whatever_ , and filing it away for when she could think past ‘takeout, Netflix, bed’. The article was finished, all of her other stuff was perfected, her True North stuff had been verified by the police. She had the STAR Labs dedication ready and she’d send it to Mason tomorrow morning after she checked it one final time. Linda was still at work, figuring out the questions for Tommy Holland, so Iris was surprised when the doorbell rang.

She frowned, putting down the takeout menu, and slipped out of bed to answer it. And then she wished she hadn’t.

“Barry,” she frowned.

Barry stood there awkwardly (honestly, even awkward he looked adorable), a casserole dish balanced in his hand. He stared at her for a minute, seeming content to just look at her face, until she cleared her throat. “Barry? What are you doing here?”

“Oh. Oh, I, um, this – Eddie wanted me to drop this off for him,” he replied, gesturing to the dish. “He said he was gonna return it, but then Bette’s plane came in early, so-”

“Right,” she interrupted. She took the dish from him and he shoved his hands in his pockets, still looking at her. “Um, thanks. But I’m kind of busy, so-”

“Iris, please, I’ve been trying to talk to you for weeks – I can’t have one minute?”

“Maybe. Are you sure you won’t change your mind again?”

He sighed. “I know, I’m sorry, but you’ve been running away from me at every opportunity and I-”

“Barry, that was pretty much the most humiliating thing that I’ve ever experienced-”

“I know, I’m sorry-”

“Barry Allen, I swear to God, if you apologise to me _one more time_ -”

But she couldn’t finish, not this time, because the next thing she knew he’d dragged her into his arms and he was kissing her. It was nothing like their first kiss, which started off chaste, but harder and more desperate and like Barry was trying to tell her something. His hands pulled her close against him and he backed her against the wall, still kissing her, and Iris just let herself into it. She slid her hands into his hair and pushed her body against his and moaned into the kiss that was becoming more and more frantic, like Barry was afraid that she was going to run away from him again. Because of course she did, of course she missed him, she loved him, despite the fact that he was the biggest idiot on the planet-

“Barry,” she gasped, pulling away from him. “What-”

“Sorry, I’m sorry-”

“ _Stop apologising_.”

“Okay,” he whispered quietly, his fingers still grasping her waist. Iris peeked up at him. His pupils were blown wide and his mouth was swollen, and his cheeks were flushed red. His chest rose and fell rapidly in time with hers as he fought to get his breath back.

“What was that for?”

“I just – I had to. Just once.”

“Why?”

“Because I lo-”

“Don’t say it,” she cut him off and stepped back, out of his embrace, and her body protested at the sudden lack of contact. He was looking at her, lost and confused with his hands still balanced where she had been between her, and that made her even more mad. “Barry Allen, _don’t you dare_. You can’t say that to me. Not now. It’s not fair and…And you don’t get to look at me like that!”

“Like what?”

“ _Like I’m ruining you_! I…I’m not…You left me. _You_ left _me_. You ran away from me and…whatever this was, and I had to learn how to see you every day without falling apart. With my brother and my father and my _best friends_. So you don’t get to look at me like me saying all of this is ruining you, because…Because _you ruined me first_.”

Barry swallowed, looked like he was trying to think of something to say. But then he shrugged and looked at her with those impossibly sad eyes. “I can’t help the way I look at you, Iris.”

She bit her lip and looked at the ground, ignoring the tears that were trickling down her cheeks. That was when Barry gave her a handkerchief and she looked at him, his eyes saying what her anger made him too afraid to vocalise. _Please don’t cry_.

“Look, I promise that after this I’ll never bother you again, not if you don’t want me to, but I wanted to explain things to you.” He paused and swallowed. “I think we can both agree I owe you that much.”

Iris didn’t look at him, wiping her eyes and handing her back the handkerchief. “I forgot you carried these around with you.”

“I used to get nosebleeds,” he explained automatically. “When it-”

“Got stormy,” Iris interrupted. “I know, Barry.”

“Oh,” he replied; of course – they knew almost everything about each other. Almost. Iris sighed. She might have said no, that it was too much, but then she remembered what her father had said. Maybe he had a good reason.

“Fine. Close the door.”

“Okay,” he said immediately, his face brightening. “Iris, where are we going?”

“My room. Linda will probably be home soon and I don’t think she’d want to hear all the yelling.”

Barry looked around when Iris led him inside, shutting the door behind him and looking around. She sat at the desk, not particularly caring that she still had files under her bed or that her desk was full of takeout menus. But all Barry said was, “I like your room.” He smiled. “It’s very…you.”

“Well, I decorated it, so…You can, um, sit down.”

“Okay.” He say down, taking off his jacket and carefully folding it on the bed. Which was so _Barry_ that she couldn’t help but smile. Barry cleared his throat.

“So, uh, I…” He led out a breath and ran his hands through his hair, then looked down at his hands before closing his eyes. Then he just didn’t say anything, breathing softly, and Iris reached out a hand to touch his face, even though every iota of common sense was telling her not to. He leaned into her touch, sighing, and opened his eyes. “Iris?” he whispered.

“You’re shaking, Bar.”

And, God, the way he looked at her, like all he would ever need in life was to remain looking at her – how could she not love him when he looked at her like that? He gently removed her hand from his face, kissing it lightly, like he knew he didn’t have permission, and put it back in her lap.

“So,” he began hoarsely, “uh, I guess I should tell you that I know about you.”

Iris frowned. “You know about me?”

“I know that you…that you’re True North.”

 _For the_ love _of God_ … First Kyle, then her Dad, and now Barry. “What? Are you kidding me? Did you all have a meeting, or something?”

Barry frowned at her. “What?”

“Barry, how do you know I’m True North?”

“Because…Because I’m the Scientist.”

“ _You’re the Scientist_? I-” Iris rubbed at her temples. So Barry had managed to reject her twice in one fell swoop. Brilliant. “Barry, I’ve had a very long week. You’re not going to end this by saying that you’re Superman, are you?”

“No,” he chuckled lightly. “No, I…I kind of lied to you before, when I said that my parents were dead.”

“They’re not?”

“No. Well, my mom’s dead. She was murdered, and my dad got arrested for the murder.”

“Okay…”

“But he didn’t do it. My dad didn’t kill my mom, Iris, he didn’t-” He cut himself off and sighed. “Sorry. My mom was killed by something…impossible.”

Iris stared at him as he told her a story about how his mother was murdered in front of him by a man in lightning, how no one believed him, how no one believed him, how he was shunted to psychiatrist to psychiatrist before he learned to just lie about it, never giving up on what he knew was true.

“So, when I saw what you did with Everyman,” he continued, his eyes alight, “I thought maybe you could help me. I thought True North could help me. But then I saw it was you and I just – I couldn’t. I didn’t want you to see me like that.”

“Barry… you thought I wouldn’t believe you?”

Barry gave her a bland smile. “Nobody ever does, Iris. I just learned to lie about it, especially with girls that I lo- Ahem, in all my… relationships.”

And then he told her the worst story of all, about how he’d told the first girl he thought he loved about his father and what had happened to him afterwards, being put into the hospital and then being ostracised. And then Iris realised that anger – real, undiluted rage – wasn’t red, like she thought it was. It was black, like toxic smoke, clouding everything she thought she knew. Because they’d ruined him, her good, beautiful boy, the most admirable and brave and _good_ person she’d ever known, they’d ruined him and beaten him with their words and their fists until he was like this.

“I’m sorry, Iris,” he finished, shrugging. He looked up at her. “I was going to meet you, but I didn’t want you to see me like that. Like the crazy guy who kept saying his mom was killed by a man in a yellow suit.”

And Iris’ heart dropped out of her chest.

“A…W-What?” she stammered. “A man in a _what_?”

“Man in a yellow suit,” he repeated, but Iris had her hands over her mouth.

“Oh my God,” she breathed, “oh my _God_. _You’re my Barry_.”

Barry frowned at him. “Iris? What do you mean?”

Iris turned away from him and looked at the files lined up against her far wall and rifled through them until she found the one she was looking for, her heart threatening to crash out of her chest. She found it and yanked the picture attached away from it, before turning back to Barry. “Iris? What do you mean ‘I’m your Barry?’”

“Shut up and come here.” She pulled him by the shirt collar over to the window and pulled the curtains so the light shone through before putting the picture up to Barry’s face, holding his chin to balance him. It had been fourteen years and Barry’s face was longer and his hair was darker, but the nose was the same and his eyes and _oh God_ …

“You’re my Barry,” she whispered, and he took the picture from her. “I hate this picture; I look like an idiot. Iris, why do you have this?”

She was shaking as she spoke, equal parts giddy and shocked. “My first case, True North’s first case-”

“The Rag Doll?”

“No, Barry, _you_. You and your mom and the Man in the Yellow Suit. When I was sixteen I saw him outside my window, just for a second, and then he took off in a haze of red lightning. And then I googled it and wrote everything down…Look.”

Barry took the file and began to read, his eyes widening as he continued. “ _Man in the Yellow Suit. The only known reference is that of someone called Barry Allen, who his mother, he claimed, was killed by it. But his dad was arrested for the murder and I can’t find anything. Maybe he did kill her_.” He sat down on the bed, still reading. "I'm your Barry."

“You're my Barry. That was my first case,” she told him. “But I couldn’t find anything, so I published the Rag Doll as my first. I can’t believe it was _you_. I remember how adamant you were that your dad didn’t kill her, and I just wanted to prove impossible things because there was a scared little boy whose mom was dead and no one believed him. And then I did criminal psychology at college because it was fun and I loved it, and I thought it would…It would help.”

Barry was running his hands over the file. “Iris,” he whispered. “The date of your first post. What was it?” Iris told him. “Iris, that’s the date I went into the hospital. After Chester and his friends beat me up. And then you made your post-”

“And you were the first person to comment on it,” she realised. “ _The Scientist_.”

He gave her a bewildered smile. “Would you look at that.”

“This is amazing!” She took the file back from him and sat back at her desk. “Barry, I can totally do this! I’m so much better than I was at sixteen, trust me, I’m actually legal, for one thing-”

“Iris?”

She didn’t look away from her map of impossible sightings she’d pulled up on her computer. “Hm?”

“Can I say it now?”

Iris turned. Barry was looking at her with that look on his face, the one he had when he first saw her, and when he was singing Michael Jackson to her, and when he was dancing with her at the engagement dinner. And she stood up, her eyes never leaving his, sat in his lap, cradled his face in his hands and kissed him. She kissed him because he’d always believed in her, even before she believed in herself, because she’d been waiting to do it since that first time they kissed at CCPN, and because she loved him. And the only reason she stopped was because she wanted to hear him say it. “Yeah, Barry. Yeah, you can say it now.”

“I love you.”

She grinned against his lips. “I love you too.”

Barry laughed, his chuckles shaking her body, and kissed her again, and Iris straddled him properly, wrapping her arms around his neck as his arms came up around her waist. And they were like that for a while before Iris pulled back from him. “Um. Bar?”

“Y-Yeah?” he said hoarsely.

“Um. I love you.”

“I love you too, Iris. I thought we did that already.”

“But. Um. So, I know where this is going, because I know us, and I don’t want you to be mad.”

“Okay…”

“But I’ve had a really long week and I’m really tired, so you think we could, um, wait?”

Barry sighed, resting his head against her shoulder. “Fuck, thank God.”

Iris frowned at him. “Barry?”

“Iris, I’m exhausted. I haven’t slept in days, and – have you heard about the Sun Dial Church case?”

“No, what about it?”

“One of the nuns cracked.”

Iris listened as Barry explained it to her. “So you mean there was an illegal drug smuggling ring being run by fake nuns who hid bricks of cocaine in stuffed animals?”

“And they they were smuggling them out through a church charity drive,” he added. “Eddie and Patty and your dad had to go get them back.”

Iris put her shoulder in the crook of his neck. “Wow.”

“I know,” he said, stroking her hair. “Week from hell.”

“Yeah, me too. But it’s not so bad now.”

Barry lifted her head up and looked up at her, a small smile on his face, like he was holding the most precious thing in the world. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

And she kissed him again. Just because she could.

***

“So the Calendar Man-”

“Completely fucking crazy,” Iris interrupted. She dug in one of the takeout boxes for some chicken dumplings. “I’m serious.”

“You have to admit his costume is hilarious.”

“I’m not admitting anything like that.”

Barry looked up her her and grinned. Not five minutes into them making up, he had given her a hopeful look and she’d rolled her eyes and let him at her files. Now they were knee-deep in Chinese food and True North cases.

“Okay,” he said, swallowing, “not like him. How about Catwoman or Batman?”

“God, no. I hate them both, plus they’re both to recent to have been the person who killed your mom.”

“Why do you hate them?”

“Well, Batman put me out of a job, and I’m pretty certain Catwoman sent an evil tabby cat after me a few months ago.”

Barry just laughed. “I told you that was a bad idea.”

“You did,” she admitted, “and I didn’t listen, and then I had to get a tetanus shot. Okay, so where are we?”

“Metropolis and National City is aliens,” Barry answered. “Gotham is criminals, mostly. The man who can talk to fish has been seen on both coasts, but he mostly tends to stick to the east coast. Coast City is pretty much safe, but people keep talking about the-”

“Green lightning guy, right?” Iris interrupted.

“Right,” he agreed. “Ugh, Washington DC ‘otherworldly beings’-”

“Yeah, I don’t get it either.”

“Okay, Star City is vigilantes, seeing as we know all of them, and Central City is just general weirdness. What do you think?”

“I think Central City,” she said, chewing on a prawn cracker. “Your mom died here, and then I saw him here fourteen years later. Whoever it was, they obviously didn’t see any reason to move.” She paused, studying the files. “I think I can do it.”

“I know you can,” he said immediately, and she looked up at him, smiling.

“You’ve always believed in me.” He shrugged.

“You always gave me something to believe in. So, I think if we go back to the map…”

Iris let him talk and watched him, this boy who she’d apparently never been able to live without. It was incredible, that he was the reason she was where she was today, why she’d decided to help people, and why she had always believed that she could find the impossible. His was the story she had carried for years, and she was so glad he loved her enough to let her finish telling it.

***

Barry was watching Iris sleep.

She didn’t know it – her hands were folded into her chest and his arms were around her, but he was looking down at her and marvelling at how he’d managed to get there, in the most perfect place he could ever think of. She had fallen asleep first, after hours of eating and researching and talking, and deciding that they’d figure out his mother’s case.

Together.

“God, Barry,” Iris had giggled. “I can’t believe you talked to Oliver. Laurel’s going to _kill_ him.”

“Why?”

“He’s not allowed to give people advice.”

Barry had laughed and Iris had yawned. “You can go to bed now, Iris, if you want. I can leave.”

“No, I want you to stay,” she’d said. “If you want. I just, uh…”

“What?”

Iris had sighed. “Wait here.”

And she’d come back out of her bathroom with a brightly-coloured scarf. “That’s pretty,” he’d said pleasantly. “What’s it for?”

“My hair,” she’d explained. “You’re dating a black woman, so…”

And she’d tied it around her head so it protected the edges of her hair. “You look cute. Uh, were you embarrassed about that?”

“Kinda.”

“I love you, Iris,” he’d shrugged. “You know I think everything about you is beautiful. But you have to take it off.”

“Why?”

“Because I have to learn to do it.”

He hadn’t let her sleep until he could do it perfectly, and she looked so happy. So now he was watching her sleep, Iris West and True North and the person who he loved most in the world, perfectly content to watch. Barry didn’t know what would happen to him, but he knew that this moment, right now with this girl, was magic. And when he remembered looking into her eyes and seeing the way she’d looked back at him, he knew how it felt for the scientists all those years ago who had caught their first glimpse of the stars, and the joy the felt when they saw them again.

Because his own north star – his True North – had come back to him.

And he was never letting her go again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You will notice that Westallen happened. And that Barry is still lightning-less. Ha. Ha. Ha. Thanks for reading, liking and commenting!


	20. The Lightning That Strikes, Relentless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Particle Accelerator is turned on, and everything changes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels kind of terrible for me to put this out after a good week for WA, but...Hope you all like it!  
> Um. NSFW NSFW NSFW  
> Title taken from 'The Lightning Strike' by Snow Patrol

There were two things that Iris West noticed when she woke up the next day.

The first was that her hair was wrapped, even though she’d spent the night with a boy.

That never usually happened to her. Kyle was black, so of course he got it, but their first night together she hadn’t exactly been worried about messing up her (very expensive) curls, which of course is exactly what happened. The minute they became a couple, she let him know that her hair wouldn’t be all over their pillows will-nilly when she stayed over. That had been about a month after their first date.

But Barry…

There moment when you wrapped your hair in front of a guy was important, especially when it was a white guy who had no concept of a black girl’s hair. Barry was not an exception to that rule, but what surprised Iris was that he was so eager to learn. He’d made her take it off and then settle back against his chest, following her instructions carefully until it was wrapped the way she wanted it. Then he’d kissed her on the forehead with that look he had that made her go weak at the knees, and held her as she fell asleep, and she’d drifted off knowing that she’d found a boy who said everything about her was beautiful.

The second thing she noticed, however, was that said boy was missing.

She’d been worried for a moment, that the night they’d shared was all in her imagination, but no – there were Barry’s sneakers lined up carefully on the right side of the bed, there was his jacket hanging over her desk chair, there were his jeans folded neatly on top of her laundry (so _Barry_ ).

So where was he?

Iris unwrapped her hair and slipped her feet into some warm socks before padding out into the hall, where she could hear muffled conversation and signs of movement. She frowned as she walked into the living room. “Barry?”

“Morning, Iris,” Linda called from the kitchen. “We’re in here.”

‘We’ turned out to be Linda, sitting at the island in the kitchen while pretending to read the paper, and Barry, who was standing at the stove in his boxers, flipping pancakes. He turned, saw her, and smiled. And, well. He’d only been hers for about twelve hours, but if there was a sight she could get used to, it was Barry Allen making pancakes in her kitchen on a Saturday morning. “Morning,” he said.

“Morning,” she replied.

“Morning,” Linda said happily, still reading. “Your boy makes excellent pancakes.”

“Really?”

“Well, I thought I’d make you breakfast,” Barry said. “And then I saw Linda, and she asked if she could have some, and it was only polite, so…”

“I think Barry’s the one who’s being polite,” Linda answered. “I may have threatened to beat him with a spatula.”

“Linda.”

“Relax! It was almost a wooden spoon.”

“ _Linda_.”

“But then,” Linda said, “he told me how the two of who had worked things out, and all was forgiven. Love you, Barry.”

Iris walked over to Barry and hugged him from behind, breathing in his clean _Barry_ smell. “Mm, you’re right, those smell amazing. I think I’ll keep him.”

Barry turned back to her. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she replied, kissing him, and Linda groaned.

“Ugh, the two of you make me sick. I want more pancakes.”

Barry and Iris rolled their eyes and Linda stared at them. “God, you’re so _married_.”

“Whatever, Lin,” Iris said, pouring coffee. “Where were you last night? We didn’t even hear you come in.”

“That’s because you were yakking away about Wonder Woman,” she replied. “And because I got back sinfully late because Mason is a slave-driver with a complete lack of empathy. I may kill that man one day.”

“Come on, Lin. Mason probably has his soul stored in different places, like Voldemort. He’ll outlive us all.”

“Hmph,” she grumbled. “So, what are you two lovebirds up to today?”

“Going into work,” she replied. “I have to give the slave-driver my dedication.” She glanced at Barry, who frowned, smiling. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“Well, I have to get to STAR Labs,” Barry told them. “Vera wants the kids to do that play thing at the opening, so I have to teach it to them again.”

“The thing with the science rap?” Linda asked. “That was adorable. Hey, mind if we stop there first, Iris? Caitlin, um, owes me something.”

“Sure,” Iris shrugged, not realising that Linda looked a little too gleeful to be going to STAR Labs. Later, when they met Barry at Jitters after he’d gone home to shower and change so they could all head over together, she was so busy talking to Barry that she hadn’t noticed that Linda was downright grinning by the time they got there. They all walked into the Cortex and were greeted by a loud whoop that almost made her jump out of her skin.

“Cisco, what?” Barry frowned. “What are you cheering about?”

“Duh, Barry,” he grinned, pointing at Barry and Iris’ entwined hands. “It happened! _Finally_. Yo, Caitlin, Ronnie, they’re here!”

Iris frowned up at Barry. “What’s going on?” But he just shrugged.

“No idea.”

“Jeez, _finally_ ,” Ronnie said once he saw them, and Caitlin smiled.

“I think what my fiancé means is that we’re all very happy for you,” she said, and Cisco scoffed as he sat down at the computer.

“Yeah, that’s what _they_. Because I love you, Iris, but I couldn’t take you giving my boy the cold shoulder for this long. I was totally Team Barry.”

“Oh yeah, Team Barry all the way,” Ronnie added. “Sorry, Iris. Dicks before chicks.”

“Well, there will be no more cold shoulders,” Iris laughed, squeezing Barry’s hand, and he grinned down at her. “Not if I can help it.”

“That’s awesome,” Ronnie said. “You guys are really cute together. Plus, now Dig and Felicity owe me twenty bucks.”

“Oh, and Oliver owes me fifty,” Caitlin added.

“God, don’t we all owe Joe like a hundred big ones?” Cisco said, and Barry frowned.

“Guys, did you – you took bets on us getting together?”

“N-No,” Cisco said quietly, and Iris noticed that Linda was on her phone and avoiding her eyes.

“Linda Jasmine Park,” she said. “You – Oh my God, Wally? You’re texting Wally?”

“He made a bet too,” she said in a small voice. Ronnie frowned.

“Really? What did he bet?”

“Caitlin, what’s the spreadsheet file called?”

Barry and Iris stared at them. “ _There’s a spreadsheet_?”

“Well,” Caitlin said, walking over to Cisco, “when the precinct got involved, it seemed only practical. We couldn’t keep it on that napkin from the karaoke place.”

“Okay, thanks. So, we’ve got bets by date, by who instigated the make-up, whether there’d be a grand gesture involved…Linda, was there make-up sex?”

“Cisco!” Iris squealed, and Barry went red. Linda peered at Iris’ hair.

“Not that I can tell.”

“Okay, so Laurel owes Caitlin twenty…”

Iris had her head in her hands.

“Oh, someone call Jay and Joan,” Ronnie said, coming over to look at the computer. “Eddie owes them one hundred.”

“What did Eddie bet?”

“Eddie bet they’d be engaged by Christmas,” Caitlin said, pointing at the screen. “Jay and Joan said Valentine’s Day.”

“Wait, we may have to hold off on that,” Linda told them. “The rate these two are going, that could change.”

After about half an hour of calculations, during which time Iris learned that _everyone_ apparently knew that she and Barry were in love, apart from her and Barry, Cisco finally came up with a conclusion. “Okay, so Oliver owes everyone, Felicity owes Linda, me and Ronnie. I owe Eddie, Captain Singh, Dig and Patty. Caitlin, you owe Bette and Jay, but Joan and Laurel both owe you. Ronnie, you owe Eddie and Patty; Patty owes you. Wally’s disqualified for threatening Barry, and everyone owes Joe one hundred. There are more, but I’ll email it to everyone.”

Barry blinked at him. “Oh, you guys didn’t get Dr Wells too?”

Cisco shrugged. “We tried, but he wouldn’t. Said he’s got a knack for predicting the future and it wouldn’t be fair.”

“Whatever that meant,” Ronnie muttered. “Anyway, you guys should probably head out, everyone will be here soon and we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

“Hey,” Barry said before Iris and Linda left. He pulled her over to the door, out of sight of everyone else. “Um, can I see you later? Is that okay?”

Iris smiled up at him. “Yeah, that sounds great. I’ll call you, okay?”

“Okay.” He bent down to kiss her, wrapping an arm around her waist and stroking her face with his other hand, until Linda cleared her throat.

“Hey, lovebirds, I’d like to make it to work _before_ Mason starts breathing fire.”

“Linda,” Iris said patiently, “didn’t I just make you two hundred dollars?”

“Hm. Two minutes.”

***

“So Linda, Wally _and_ Joe all wanted to kill me?”

Iris, handing Barry her jacket as they walked in the door, frowned. “Well, I didn’t know about Wally. And dad was kidding. I think. But yeah, Linda was about ready to murder you.”

Barry sighed. “I’m so-”

“Barry, stop apologising,” she interrupted. “I’m not mad, and neither are they. What you told me was personal and I can’t…I can’t _imagine_ what it must have taken for you to tell me.”

“Well, I love you,” he shrugged. “I trust you with everything.”

“Me too.”

Iris didn’t tell him that she’d already emailed Felicity and a dossier with information on the people that had bullied Barry in school, as well as that Lacey Luthor girl, would be on its way to her apartment within the next twelve hours. Barry smiled and kissed her on the forehead, and the way that his fingers lingered on her neck made her want to jump on him. But she didn’t. Because they were in love and they were taking things slow.

Or something.

As it stood, Iris was very proud of their new relationship. They hadn’t spent long together, since they both had to work despite it being a Saturday. Mason was particularly giddy even though she said she had to redraft her dedication because she wanted to include Barry – but that was only because he bet against the interns and they lost.

“I always knew you’d never let me down, West,” he’d said, grinning.

And Barry had to work on analysing fibres from about fifty stuffed animals, which meant that he was now covered in white fur day. He glanced down forlornly at his shirt. “I look like I’ve been hugging rabbits all day.”

Iris giggled and walked over from where she was sat on the couch. “Aw, it’s not that bad. Just have to brush it off…”

She became aware, however, that Barry was wearing a particularly tight green shirt today, one that emphasised his frame, and she was essentially just rubbing on his body. Hard. And she couldn’t seem to stop. She cleared her throat, blushing, and looked up at him. Barry’s pupils were dilated and his face was flushed. “Um. I think I got it all.”

“Good,” he said faintly. “That’s good.”

“You got any iced tea or juice or something?” Iris said quickly, turning away from him. “I’m really hot.”

“Yeah,” he said, staring at her, and then shook his head. “I mean yeah, sure. In the fridge.”

Iris got about as far as the cupboard to get a glass.

“I can’t reach,” she said quietly, and Barry came to stand behind her.

“I can get it,” he whispered, and Iris felt her heart start to race. He lifted his hand – and Iris turned around, grabbed his shirt lapels, and crushed her lips to his.

Barry moaned against her mouth and wrapped his arms around her, walking them back towards the kitchen counter. Iris let out a squeal as Barry hefted her up on the counter and pulled her legs up around his waist, expertly mouthing at her neck and jaw.

“ _Oh_ ,” Iris moaned as she felt an urgent need pooling in her stomach. Barry’s kisses were wet and hungry, and he blew across the wet skin as he moved further down her chest. Iris shuddered, twisting her fingers in his hair, and he chuckled against her skin.

“What are you laughing at?”

“I knew you loved it when I did that,” he whispered, making her squirm with pleasure. “You kept making that noise.”

Iris pulled back and delighted in the fact that his eyes were all hazy and unfocused. “Because you know me so well, Barry Allen?”

Barry, without taking his eyes away from hers, rolled his hips against her, and she gasped as she felt his erection against her centre. “Well enough, Iris West.”

“Well, two can play at that game.”

She cupped his jaw in his hands and kissed him, but then rubbed her mouth along his jaw until she reached his right ear before swiping her tongue against it. Barry cursed and shuddered, gripping her even tighter, and she giggled as she kissed and licked and tugged at his ear. Barry’s words became more and more unintelligible until he was just making noises.

“ _Hnnnh_ ,” he moaned into her neck, and she laughed.

“So, do I win?”

“Mm-hm,” he nodded obediently, “yes ma’am, you win.”

Iris laughed as he dived into her neck again, his fingers tracing up her legs. “Barry,” she gasped as he got between her thighs. “Barry, _bed_.”

“No,” he said stubbornly. “Here. Countertop. Fuck bed.”

“No, Barry, fuck _in_ the bed.”

Then Iris was squealing delightedly as Barry grabbed her ass, hooking her legs firmly around the waist, and walked her quickly to his room. She was on her back on his mattress in no time, and then he sat up to take off his shirt and unbuckle his pants. When Iris shed her dress quickly (and giggled when Barry’s eyes darkened at the sight of her purple bra and panties) she lay back and ran her foot up his six pack. Barry growled and kissed her again, his hands questing up her sides, before pulling back and trailing more wet kisses down her body. Iris closed her eyes, trying to get that need growing in her centre to _wait, damnit_ , but Barry Allen was making it incredibly hard to concentrate. “Iris,” he said into her navel, and she squirmed again.

“Barry.”

He kissed the hemline of her panties and looked up at her. “Is this okay?”

And wasn’t he just the sweetest guy in the whole goddamn world. “It’s not just okay, it’s necessary.”

Barry didn’t say anything else – and Iris couldn’t. Because the minute he started using his teeth – his fucking _teeth_ – to remove her panties, she lost it. Barry pulled them slowly down her legs, making her squirm underneath him, and then started trailing wet kisses up her legs again. Her hands were in his hair and she was arching off the bed, trying to get that lovely mouth of his to _do its goddamn job_.

“ _Bar-ry_ ,” she whined. “ _Hurry up._ ”

“I’m slow, Iris.”

“I hate slow.”

“Not my kind of slow.”

“Shut up and – _Ohhhhhh_. Oh, God, _Barry_.”

The noise was pulled from her as he slowly licked her up and down, using his fingers when he wanted to catch his breath. Iris was so on edge that she could barely remember her own name, her body shaking and her hips grinding against his hand. She couldn’t speak, only moan “Please” and “Fuck” and “ _Jesus_ ” and Barry slipped another finger inside her.

She came screaming his name at the ceiling.

He grinned and moved up to kiss her but didn’t remove his hand, and their kisses were open-mouthed because Iris couldn’t breathe, because she was absolutely certain that Barry was trying to kill her. “Now,” she ordered when she could get her breath. He looked down at her.

“Yeah?”

She raised an eyebrow and bucked her hips against him. He licked his lips. “Did I stutter, Barry?”

“No. No ma’am, you didn’t.”

Barry found a condom from his bedside drawer and Iris clambered on top of him to put it on. She frowned at Barry, who was smiling up at her dopily. “What’s with you?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, you dork. Now fuck me.”

Iris lowered herself onto him and Barry groaned, his back arching off the bed, as Iris leaned forward over him so that her hair was brushing his shoulders, her hands gripping the headboard, and thrust her hips against him. He tipped his head back and closed his eyes as Iris fucked him relentlessly, eliciting filthy words and grunts of pleasure from him.

“ _Fuck_ , Iris,” he breathed. He reached up and pulled her down against him so he could kiss her neck, dragging his teeth against her skin, and used the other to find her clit and rub it. Iris threw her head back, gasping, and came with a guttural groan, her whole body shaking. She slumped against his chest and he turned them over so her legs were around his waist. She stared up at him, grinning and breathing hard. “Yeah, I’m definitely keeping you.”

He leaned forward and kissed her on the nose. “You can keep me forever, Iris.”

She grinned and then gasped again as he started to move slowly, rocking his hips back and forth. He felt the pressure building inside himself as Iris grasped his shoulders, her fingernails digging into the skin. “Barry- _God_ ,” she breathed as she met a thrust of his with a roll of her hips. “I’m close, are you-”

Barry grunted he thrusted. “Almost – there!”

They came together, Barry’s face buried in her neck and her hands gripping his back. Then Barry rolled off her and they lay there, gasping, until Iris found the breath to speak. “Barry. Bar.”

He ran a hand through his damp hair. “Yeah?”

“We had sex in a _bed_.”

“We must be growing up.” And he looked over her and grinned, and they both burst into laughter, shaking until their sides hurt. Barry pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arms around her, smiling into her hair. “Okay, you were right.”

“I was?”

“Fucking _in_ the bed is good.”

“Good?”

“Amazing. Mind-blowing,” he continued, and she giggled again. “Groundbreaking. Earth – Iris, I’m pretty sure the earth moved.”

She reached up and patted his cheek, still laughing. “I like that answer.”

Barry _hmmed_ into her skin. “That’s what you do to me, Iris. You make my earth move.”

“You’re so damn corny.”

“You know you love it.”

“Yeah,” Iris agreed idly, and they lay like that for a while, peaceful in the afterglow, until Barry shifted and Iris raised her eyebrows.

“Barry.”

“Iris.”

“You wanna make the earth move again?”

It was different the second time, thought. The second time felt more like…love. That was what it was, wasn’t it? Making love? That was what you called it when it was slower, when the kisses were more tender and when the touches were less frantic. That was what it was called when Barry told Iris how much he loved her as he entered her, and how he was so glad that he found her as he pressed his lips to her skin. That was it, wasn’t it, when Iris cradled Barry’s face and told him that she’d always need him and that he was her world. So, by the end of the night, when they were holding each other in bed, they had decided that they were definitely going to keep each other.

“How did you know about my ear thing?” Barry asked. Iris giggled.

“I know everything about you.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Uh-huh,” she said, snuggling into his chest. “I know your birthday, that you’re allergic to salmon – which, hello, _weird_ – and that you once ate twelve hot dogs and then threw up on a roller coaster when you were fourteen.”

 “That was a good day,” Barry admitted. “Hm, okay. Uh, you never drink anything stronger than an Americano but you think espresso by itself is the devil, of the two necklaces that you always wear to work, one is always the one from Wally for your sixteenth birthday, and the top of your freebie five list is Oliver Queen.”

“Wrong,” she said, even though she was touched that he remembered the other things. He frowned.

“Um, Idris Elba. No? Henry Cavill…Lance Gross? Shit. Chris Evans.”

“Those are all on the list, but they’re not at the top,” Iris said. He frowned.

“Okay, I give up.”

“Lois Lane.”

Barry raised his eyebrows, intrigued. “Really?”

“Mm,” she replied. She sighed dreamily. “It’s a totally professional attraction. Anyway, what about you? You never told me who’s at the top of your list.”

Barry cleared his throat. “I was just with the girl of my dreams, Iris. I’m not even thinking about a freebie five list.”

Iris narrowed her eyes. “Barry.”

His lips went small. “I don’t want to say.”

“Why not?”

“You don’t like her.”

Iris looked up at him, trying to think of who she didn’t like. “Try me.”

“Nope.”

“It can’t be that bad,” she laughed. “There’s not a whole lot of famous people I don’t like, unless…” She froze and looked at him. “Barry.”

“See, I knew you wouldn’t like it.”

“Barry Allen.”

He blushed. “In my defence, I decided before I met you.”

“Bartholomew Henry _Allen_. Catwoman? _Seriously_?”

“You have to admit, she’s kind of hot!”

Iris slapped him lightly and he laughed. “No, not funny! She tried to kill me!”

“She didn’t try to kill you, Iris. Besides, what’s the big deal? It’s not like I’m in love with Catwoman. I’m never even going to meet her. And I’m in love with _you_.”

Iris made an unintelligible noise and Barry laughed again, stroking her hair. When he spoke again, it was soft and quiet. “You, ah, have a pattern. You tend not to take big cases around June or August or February. The ones like the Rag Doll and the Riddler are your favourite, and even though you didn’t say it, the Ventriloquist really freaked you out.”

Iris swallowed. He was right, the Ventriloquist had freaked her out, not least because she turned out to be a psychopathic killer that she had to chain to a flagpole. And June was her birthday, while the others were Wally’s and her dad’s. She never liked to take cases that would cause her to miss them. She took a deep breath. “You don’t like cases like that one. You liked the Rag Doll, kind of, but your favourites tend to be ones like the Scarecrow and Clayface or Killer Croc. You like it better when I do little posts about Supergirl or Hawkman. And you’re really quiet around January.”

“My mom died then,” he replied, and Iris felt him swallow. “Last Christmas, you stopped taking cases that revolved around murder. Because of-”

“Dawn,” she whispered. She reached up to stroke his face, and he sighed when she touched him. “Okay, you win.”

“I got one more.”

“What’s that?”

“I love you.”

“I know that already, Barry. Still good to hear, though.”

“No,” he laughed. “I just – I don’t know that I’ll ever have enough time to show you how much I love you. That what I feel for you is bigger than time itself.”

Iris lay there quietly, wondering how in holy hell Barry Allen didn’t have a goddamn _wife_ , never mind a girlfriend, when he went around saying things like that to people. “Well, Barry, I promise we’ve got all the time in the world.”

***

“Do you want to meet my dad?”

That was what Barry had said while they were making breakfast the next day. He wasn’t facing her, but the set of his shoulders and the way he spoke let Iris know that he was nervous – because this was important to him. Of course, everyone thought that his father was dead. She put down her juice and rolled up the sleeves of the CCPD jersey he’d lent her. “Are you sure? I mean, I know that’s a big deal for you.”

He turned to face her, putting two plates of scrambled eggs and toast on the table. “Yeah, I am. I mean, apart from Singh and Oliver and those guys, you’re the only one who knows that my dad’s alive, I think. And I want him to meet you. And,” he added, “I was thinking of telling everyone else.”

Iris got up and sat in his lap; he played with her fingers as he continued to speak. “I mean, for the longest time I was ashamed of it. I never once believed that my father killed my mom-”

“Because he didn’t,” Iris said, and Barry squeezed her fingers.

“Right. But I never really had anyone in my corner, or so I thought, so I guess it was easier to keep it to myself. But now I’ve got you, and you’ve _always_ been in my corner, even when I didn’t realise it. I’ve got the one person who’s always believed in me.” He shrugged and grinned at her. “So I guess I’m not afraid anymore.”

Iris kissed his forehead and cradled his face in her hands. “In that case, yes, Barry Allen, I’d love to meet your dad.”

So that was how Iris found herself waiting outside Jitters so that Barry could drive them both to Iron Heights prison. He was telling his friends at STAR Labs; Iris had wanted to come with him, but he’d said he preferred to do it alone. When she saw him, she smiled and grabbed his hand. “How was it?”

“Okay,” he nodded. “I mean, the Particle Accelerator’s turning on in a few days, so they’re kind of stressed, but it was cool. I didn’t feel bad, or anything.”

“You sound surprised.”

“I guess I’m just used to being called crazy.”

Iris stroked her thumb over his knuckles and didn’t tell him that she was currently in possession of life-destroying information about his high school bullies that Felicity was trying to convince her not to use. “Well, all the most important people know you’re not.”

“Thanks,” he said. “How did the others take it?”

Barry had asked Iris to tell Linda and Wally, since she was closer to them. “Wally took it pretty well – but he’s still going to call you ‘CSI the Dork’. And, um, Linda’s making you a casserole.”

He frowned. “Why?”

Iris cleared her throat. “Well, she really was serious about beating you with that spatula. This is just her way of saying sorry.”

“Okay,” he said slowly. “Uh, she’s a good cook, right?”

“The best.”

“Well, alright then,” he smiled. “You ready?”

“Uh-huh.”

Henry Allen knew that his son was bringing Iris, but that didn’t mean that he was a little apprehensive. After all, people didn’t usually boast when their fathers were convicted murderers. Both of them sat in front of the glass and Iris gave him a nervous smile. Barry picked up one of the two phones.

“Hey, dad,” he said.

“Hello, son.”

“So, uh, this is…she’s…she’s my-”

“I’m his Iris,” she interrupted. “Iris West. Um, it’s nice to meet you, Mr Allen.”

“It’s nice to meet you as well, Iris, and you can call me Henry. It’s nice to put a face to a lovely girl my son hasn’t been able to stop talking about for the last two months.”

Barry blushed and Iris beamed. “You can’t stop talking about me?” she grinned, nudging him.

“I have no idea what either of you are talking about.”

“You’re such a bad liar,” Iris told him, and she turned to Henry. “Isn’t he a bad liar?”

“The worst,” Henry agreed. “Especially when he’s upset.”

“ _This is just my face_ ,” they said together, laughing, and Barry rolled his eyes.

“Does he still do that thing he does?” Henry asked, leaning forward. “When he lies?”

“Oh, you mean that fidgety, can’t-look-you-in-the-eye thing?” Iris asked. “Totally. It’s his tell.” Barry pouted.

“I don’t have a tell.”

“You have a tell, Bar.”

“Do not.”

“It’s a cute tell, don’t worry.”

“At least it’s better than yours,” he said idly, and she rounded on him.

“I’m brilliant liar,” she told him. “I need to lie for my job.”

“So that high-pitched, fast-talking thing you do when you’re lying,” he said, raising his eyebrows. “All part of the charm?”

“I think she’s very charming,” Henry put in helpfully, and Iris beamed at him.

“Thank you, Henry. Barry, you should listen to your dad.”

“I hate you both.”

***

“Your dad’s really adorable,” she said later, while they were finishing dinner. Barry grinned.

“Yeah, he’s the best. I mean, I think he likes you more than me now, but…”

“That’s hardly his fault. I’m very charming.”

Barry threw one of his couch cushions at her. Iris looked at him for a moment. “Barry, if you don’t want to do this now-”

“No, I want to,” he interrupted. “This is how you work, right? This is your…process.”

“I mean, I don’t usually conduct interviews,” she admitted, “but yeah, my first point of contact is the closest thing I have to the source, which is you.”

“Then I guess we’re doing the interview.”

Barry had wanted to make it easier for Iris by doing it in her apartment where she could easily access all her files and charts, but she insisted on his place. “You’d be surprised at how much people talk when they’re surrounded by the familiar,” she’d said.

She and Barry sat at his kitchen table, Barry watching her carefully as she tried to get everything in order and looked over the questions she was about to ask him. Iris had, of course, interviewed people before, but none of them were for a True North case, and none of them were anyone she loved or cared about. Finally, she was ready. She looked at Barry, hand hovering over the recorder button on her Mac. “Ready?”

He nodded, and Iris pressed the button. “This interview is being recorded on December 10th, 2013,” she began. “Okay, Barry, I’m just gonna ask you some questions, okay?”

“Sure.”

“Full name.”

“Bartholomew Henry Allen.”

“Date of birth?”

“January 14th, 1989.”

Iris took a deep breath. “Could you describe, in as much detail as possible, what occurred in your house on the night of January 18th in the year 2000?”

Iris listened and made notes as Barry described what had happened to him. She knew the broad strokes of it, but now he was being more detailed. He was subdued, though, and there were countless times when he would stop and close his eyes and she’d have to give him a moment, or when an encouraging smile would get him to keep going when he got to a particularly hard part. When he finished, Iris got him a glass of water. “You okay? We can take a break…”

“No, I’m good,” he said, wiping his mouth. “I’m in it, now, right? Might as well finish.”

“Okay,” she nodded. “To clarify, what you are saying to me is that this man in a yellow suit killed your mother, and that you were whisked away by something in yellow lightning. Your father, a doctor, tried to stabilise your mother’s wound, but was arrested for the murder.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying.”

Iris wrote some notes, taking note of his demeanour and how he looked and sounded when he answered the question. Then she bit her lip. “Bar, these next few questions – I might have to send this file to the police and I can’t be biased, so I have to ask-”

“It’s okay,” he said quietly, shrugging. “Whatever it is, I’ve probably been asked worse.”

Iris swallowed. “Alright. And you have no reason to believe that your father killed your mother on purpose?”

“No, none at all.”

“No lingering resentment, no problems in their marriage or your family?”

“No, my parents were happy. We-” Barry choked a little. “We were happy.”

“Bar…” Iris said, getting up, but Barry held out a hand to stop her, still looking at the floor.

“No, I’m good.” He pinched the bridge of his nose for a few seconds and sniffed once, before wiping his eyes and looking back up at her. “Sorry. Let’s, uh, let’s keep going.”

Iris looked down at her questions, a little choked up herself. “Um, do you – is there any reason why someone would want to kill your mother?”

“No. My mom was harmless, and we weren’t exactly the type of have enemies.”

They carried on like that until Iris ran out of questions (and by this time she was pretty much crying too), and then she turned off the recorder and walked over to Barry. She stood over him and he wrapped his arms around her waist, his cheek resting over her stomach. “You okay, Bar? Do you need anything?”

“Just you,” he replied quietly into her shirt. “This – This is good. Was that okay?”

“It was perfect,” she told him, wiping her eyes. “You did so good, Bar, you did _so good_. I’m so proud of you.”

“Thanks,” he replied, and Iris felt him smile into her shirt and she stoked his hair. “Do you need anything else?”

“Police records,” she said. “For your first interview as a kid and what they said to you. Hard to come by, I know, but I can just get them from-”

“Felicity,” they said together. Barry traced his fingers in circles on her back.

“Yeah, even though I was raised in National City, all the files are here,” he explained. “I may have used my connections to get access, but Felicity pretty much got me the whole file.”

“It’s so weird that you grew up where Great-Aunt Esther lives. Um, anyway,” she said, shaking her head, “where are they? They’ll really help narrow down what avenues I need to go down next.”

“They’re at my lab,” he said. “I can get them for you this week – when are you free?”

“That’s a pretty good question,” Iris mused. “I think Mason is actually breathing fire, since the article is coming out and we have to get a news crew down to the Particle Accelerator, and Linda’s thing is gonna be on TV as well. I’ll let you know.”

“Okay,” he said, and looked up her, smiling. Iris frowned.

“What are you doing?”

“Watching the stars.”

“Corny, so damn _corny-_ ”

He interrupted her by kissing her, and then stood up, leading her to his room. “Come on, West.”

“Where are we going?”

“You made me sit through four seasons of _Pretty Little Liars_ -”

“Which you loved,” she pointed out.

“Not the point. Now it’s my turn.”

Iris stopped. “Are we-”

“Yes, Iris West, you are going to watch _The Walking Dead_.”

She made to pull away even though she was laughing. “Barry, you know zombies scare me.”

But Barry just bent and scooped her up in his arms and continued like she hadn’t spoken. “And you’re going to love every minute of it.”

“ _Nerd_.”

***

“ _I am not a scientist._

“ _That much became more and more obvious as I was writing this article. I am not a scientist; I am a storyteller. I look for clues and tips and explore hunches until I can make sense of something and then present it to the world to explain something. I never thought there was a story in science until now._

“ _Because science is a kind of story, isn’t it? It’s a story about how we got here, why we got here, and where we might be going next. Maybe it’s not Woodward and Bernstein, but it’s still a story, and I hope you’ve enjoyed the one I’ve written._

“ _To say that Dr Harrison Well’s Particle Accelerator has changed Central City is saying something, but since you’re going to read about all the science and the community and the fame in these next few parts, I’m not going to talk about that. What I_ am _going to talk about is what went into making this story, and the people to whom I’m dedicating this. There are the scientists who are so passionate and wonderful about what they’re creating, the researchers who never give up their search for knowledge, the volunteers who make it all possible, and the kids who make it magic._

“ _Specifically, I’m dedicating it to the following people: Dr Caitlin Snow, Ronnie Raymond, and Cisco Ramon, AKA the STAR Labs Crew, who have got to be the most brilliant people I have ever met while still being warm and humble. You are all amazing._

“ _Mason Bridge – not just because you’re my boss and you’re standing over me as I write this part, but because you’re awe-inspiring and ingenious. Sorry this is late._

“ _Bette Sans Souci, Felicity Smoak, Eddie Thawne, Linda Park, Wally and Joe West – thanks for putting up with me while I was writing this. You’re the best family a girl could ask for_.

“ _The person who gets the biggest dedication probably doesn’t even know this is coming, which is exactly why he’s getting it. Yes, Barry Allen, I am talking about you._

“ _Those of you who know me will assume I’m biased, but I have it on good authority (Dr Wells himself) that Barry and the other volunteers like him are the reason that projects like this get off the ground. And after having spent the last two months with him while he helped me write this article, I can wholeheartedly say that’s true. Anyone who’s lucky enough to know Barry will know that his heart and enthusiasm are infectious, and went a pretty long way in helping me write this. He has been everywhere – offering his stellar opinions on the Particle Accelerator’s structure, helping to construct and solve scientific scenarios, and putting together science-themed plays involving rhyming narration, a dragon, and Lex Luthor (and yes, that is as amazing as it sounds). And, of course, helping me._

“ _The point of all this is to say that Barry Allen has been of invaluable help to me, and for that I want to thank him. For always being there when I need you, for answering even my dumbest questions with a smile, and generally being awesome. I couldn’t have done any of this without you. Thank you for making a scientist out of this storyteller._ ”

Iris played with her hands as Mason read over the dedication, a pen hanging out of his mouth. Behind her, TV crews were setting up in the newsroom, where Tommy Holland was due any minute to start his interview. Iris wanted to go in to calm Linda down before Mason, Steph and Chris joined her. It had taken her a while to pare down the word count and merge the two dedications – the one for Barry, and the one for everyone else – until it looked the way she wanted. She wasn’t majorly concerned with his opinion, though, beyond that it made sense and tugged at the appropriate heartstrings. She just wanted Barry to read it.

Because she _couldn’t_ have done any of it without him, Iris was starting to realise. Her first post – the very first thing she’d put out into the world – was supported by Barry. The whole reason she wrote, both as True North and Iris West, was to give people like him hope with her stories. Even though she’d never known it, Barry Allen had always been hers.

And the reality of it, that he loved her as much as she loved him, was still breath-taking to her.

“It’s good,” Mason said shortly, breaking her out of her thoughts. “Good length, concise, right amount of emotion. Which says a lot, coming from me.”

“Aw, what are you talking about, boss?” Iris grinned. “You’re the most emotional guy I know.”

“Hmph. Okay, this is good. Make sure all your other articles are in order, and then you get the rest of today and tomorrow off.”

Iris raised her eyebrows. “Really? Why?”

“Because you are newly and disgustingly in love with the Harry Allen boy and I can’t stand to see you grinning like that for much longer,” he deadpanned. “Go away and help Park.”

“Really? You’re not going to troll me because I essentially put a love letter to my boyfriend – whose name is _Barry_ , Mase, you just read it – in the paper?”

He shrugged. “No. You made me a hundred dollars, which means that my wife doesn’t have to cook tomorrow night, which will make me very popular.”

“Somebody _married_ – Um,” Iris said, cutting herself off as Mason’s eyebrows quirked. “That sounds great. I’m gonna go help Linda.”

Her best friend was sitting in a chair while someone finished doing her makeup, rifling through papers. “Iris, I can’t speak.”

“You’re speaking right now,” Iris told her.

“Yeah, because I’m talking to _you_ ,” she said shrilly. “And – God, my notes, my notes don’t make any sense-”

“Lin, this is our water bill,” Iris said, taking it from her. “Look, these are your notes. And you’ve practiced these on me a thousand times, you’ll be fine. Hey,” she added to one of the assistants, “could we get a cold water, please?”

“Right away, Iris.”

“Thanks. Lin,” she said, turning back to her. “ _Linda_. Honey, look at me. You’ve got this. You’re the bravest, most badass girl I know. I know you can do this. And this weekend after the interview and the Particle Accelerator madness is done, we can grab Felicity and take a road trip somewhere. Preferably somewhere not wet – apparently there’s going to be a storm on Friday.”

“What about Barry? I thought you’d want to hang out with him, since you’re still new.”

Iris shrugged. “Eh, screw Barry.” Linda raised her eyebrows.

“You are. Frequently. I can tell by your hair. Thanks for not doing it at home, by the way.” Linda bit her lip. “You really think it’s going to be okay?”

“I think you’ll be perfect,” Iris assured her. “You’ve been waiting for this forever, and – Yes?”

Iris turned after someone tapped her on the shoulder and then blinked. “Wally? What are you doing here?”

Her brother, bouquet of flowers in one hand and a bashful expression on his face, swallowed. “Uh, hi, guys.”

“Hi, Wally,” Linda said. She shared a look with Iris. “What are you doing here? I thought you had your project to do.”

“I do,” he told her. “And I can’t stay long, I just – um, I knew you were recording your interview today, and I wanted to wish you luck and give you these.” He thrust the flowers at her quickly. “Um, they’re peonies. Iris said, uh, you like peonies.”

“I did,” Iris said helpfully. “I did say that.”

Linda smiled, touched. “Thanks, Wally. That means a lot. I don’t know where to-”

“I’ll take them,” Iris interrupted gleefully. “I’m sure we have a vase around here somewhere. You guys talk.”

Iris walked off with the flowers and found a vase in the kitchen, before setting them on Linda’s desk and trying to pretend that she wasn’t watching Linda and Wally. Just as she was finishing, her phone started ringing. “Iris West.”

“It’s me.”

“Hey, you,” Iris laughed. “Shouldn’t you be working?”

“I am working,” Barry said. “But it’s my lunch break and I wanted to see how our girl is doing before her big TV spot.”

“Linda? A lot better now. What’s up with you?”

“Nothing much, just finishing up some stuff. I’m gonna go over to Eddie’s later, see if I can cheer him up before Bette’s surgery.”

“Good idea,” she replied. Bette’s surgery was due to take place the following evening, right around the time the Particle Accelerator was turning on. Barry, Iris, Linda and Wally had all offered to be there with him when it happened, but he had opted to spend it with his mother and Bette’s parents.

“And then we can – wait, what?” Barry broke off and started talking to someone else. “Patty, _what_? Oh, crap. Okay, Iris, I’m sorry, I have to go.”

“What happened?”

“Someone tried to steal the stuffed pandas from the transport truck on the way to the lab.”

“Okay.” Iris had long accepted that the Sun Dial Church case would only get more, not less, weird. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“West,” someone said after she’d hung up. Mason was standing behind her. “Who’s that talking to Park?”

“That’s my brother, Wally. You’ve met him before.”

“Why is he talking to Park?”

“Because he’s her Barry,” Iris replied, smiling, and Mason frowned at her.

“What?”

“Nothing. I’ll get rid of him.”

But Wally was already leaving, and both he and Linda looked decidedly happier after their conversation. “That was nice of you,” she told him as she walked him to the door. “To bring Linda the flowers.” Wally shrugged.

“That’s kind of why I did it.”

“Is that why you asked me what Linda’s favourite flowers are yesterday?”

“Well, I didn’t want to get her flowers she didn’t like,” Wally replied. Iris grinned at him and Wally sighed.

“Shut up, ladybird.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Yeah, whatever. I’ll see you tomorrow, right? You and CSI the Dork are going to STAR Labs for the Particle Accelerator thing.”

“Yup,” she said. She hugged him. “And you know, you should stop calling him that.”

“Eh, he likes it.”

***

“Caitlin, come on.”

“You’re being so unhelpful.”

“Cait, honey, you look great.”

“You’re all useless.”

“Caitlin, _hurry up_.”

“I wish Felicity was here,” Caitlin lamented from behind the screen. “Or Linda. They’d be able to help me.”

“Well, Iris will be here in a minute,” Barry called out. “I’m sure she can help.”

Caitlin stepped out in front of the screen and scowled at them, smoothing down her dark blue dress. “Why didn’t you lead with that?”

“Cait, you look amazing,” Ronnie said, turning her around. She frowned.

“You have to say that, you’re my fiancé.”

“Well, Barry and Cisco both think you look incredible,” Ronnie said, giving them a significant look. “Right?”

“Yeah, incredible,” they said together, and Caitlin scowled at them.

“Like I’m going to believe that.”

Barry resisted the urge to laugh, straightening his collar. They were gathered in the Cortex and they probably shouldn’t have been, given that everyone was running around trying to make sure the Accelerator would be turned on. Every few minutes, someone would come in and grab a random item from the room and then run out again, usually muttering about tungsten or lasers.

Barry could hardly contain his excitement. Last year, when the Particle Accelerator had been turned off barely a few minutes into it being turned on, he had been in Star City getting kidnapped by Oliver Queen. Now he was right in the middle of it. In a few minutes, they were all going to go outside and watch Dr Wells give his speech, and then they’d see all of their hard work come to fruition. But even though Barry was excited, it wouldn’t be the highlight of the night for him.

Because after that, he and Iris were going on their first date.

They’d both been so busy this week that they hadn’t been able to manage it, but they had set a date and got reservations and Iris had a dress and Barry had an actual tie that didn’t have test tubes on it. Granted, they’d been dating pretty much since they first met, but they wanted to do _something_ properly. Iris would be due any minute, they’d watch the Accelerator turn on, and then they’d go out for dinner together, like a real couple. And since they’d pretty much been together almost their entire lives, he wasn’t even that nervous.

Well, alright. He was kind of shitting himself.

But who wouldn’t when you were dating Iris West?

“Where’s everyone else?” Cisco said, bringing him back to reality. Barry thought for a moment.

“Iris is on her way, Wally will be here with his friends later, and Linda might not make it since she’s doing ADR for her TV spot.”

“We DVR’d that, right honey?” Caitlin asked Ronnie, and he nodded. Barry looked at them.

“You guys won’t get to see it?”

“Not if we plan on sleeping for a year after the Accelerator is turned on,” Ronnie muttered. “Seriously, I don’t think I know what our apartment looks like in the daytime.”

“I’m saying!” Cisco agreed, adjusting his blazer. “I think I’m gonna stay in bed and eat quesadillas for a week. Get nice and fat.”

“Who’s nice and fat?” a voice said, and Barry grinned when Iris strode into the room, dressed in a pretty green dress and boots. She looked over at him and smiled, reaching up to kiss him. “Hey.”

“Hi,” he replied, and Cisco cleared his throat.

“The two of you need to stop that,” he said. “It was bad enough when you weren’t together and you kept making heart eyes at each other.”

“Sorry,” they said together. Iris walked around to Caitlin, surveying her outfit.

“Wow, Caitlin, you look hot.” Caitlin smiled at her.

“Thank you, Iris.” All the guys rolled their eyes.

“Sure, you believe _her_ ,” Ronnie says.

“Iris isn’t trying to get me to stop talking.”

Iris laughed. “You guys ready for tonight?”

“Ready as we’ll ever be,” Cisco replied. “And I’m the only getting nice and fat, by the way, I’m gonna eat myself into a food coma.”

“Sounds cool. Oh, Caitlin, are you busy next week?”

“Maybe, why?”

“Well, Felicity, Linda and I are taking a road trip and we wanted to know if you can come too,” she said. “You know, kind of a girl’s thing.”

Caitlin smiled. “Oh, that’s nice of you. I guess I’ll see how exhausted I am.”

“So, this road trip,” Cisco said idly. “There wouldn’t be any Hoboken-like shenanigans going on, would there?”

“Nice try, Cisco,” Iris and Caitlin said together. Cisco looked at Barry.

“She hasn’t told you yet?”

“Dude, we only just got together. Give me time.”

“God, you’re useless. Did you at least get me a cocaine panda?”

Barry threw his hands up at the ceiling and Iris looked at him. “Wait, he’s getting a cocaine panda? I want a cocaine panda.”

“Okay, Iris, I love you, but you’re new,” Cisco said. “If anyone’s getting a stuffed cocaine panda from the Sun Dial Church case, it’s me.”

Iris raised her eyebrows. “Oh, yeah? Do _you_ make out with him?”

“You guys!” Barry interjected. “You’re – You know that I can’t get either of you pandas? On account of it being a dozen different kinds of illegal?”

“Whatever,” they both muttered, and then Vera stuck her head around the corner, a headset squawking in her ear.

“Could you guys head over to the stage?” she said. “The protestors are here and we’re worried that you won’t be able to get out of the building in time.”

“Really?” Ronnie asked. “That bad?”

“Yeah, actually,” Iris told them. “I came over with them and I would have gotten there earlier, but we couldn’t find an entrance.”

“Yeah, Captain Singh’s got a team on standby in case things get out of hand tonight,” Barry added. “I guess some people really don’t want this thing turned on.”

“Yeah, well, it’s turning on,” Ronnie said. “I’ve given up years of my life for this, I want to see some lasers.”

They made their way into the cool night air towards the stage, Iris’ hand in Barry’s, and walked past the protesters. Iris flashed her press badge and Barry his special guest past, and then Iris reached into her bag. “So, I got you something.”

“Is it a cheeseburger? Because Cisco ate mine.”

“No,” Iris laughed. “Besides, we can eat at dinner.”

“Mm,” he grinned, waggling his eyebrows. “I can think of one thing I’d like to eat-”

“Barry!”

“Sorry. Well, not really. Anyway, what do you have for me?”

“My article,” she answered, handing it to him. Barry laughed.

“Is this why you wouldn’t let me read it this morning?”

“Yeah, because this copy is signed.”

“It is,” he agreed, beginning to read. Iris watched him nervously.

“What do you think?”

“Wow, Queen Incorporated bought _another_ car company?”

“Barry!”

“Sorry, kidding. This is a cute picture of you. Hey,” he remembered. “You think you could sign a copy for me to give to my dad? He says he wants to read it.”

Iris smiled slowly at him, touched. “O-Of course I can, Barry.”

“Cool,” he said, and was just turning back to read it when Vera appeared again and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Barry, the kids’ school paper wants a picture with you and the kids. Is that okay?”

Barry glanced at Iris and Vera grimaced. “Sorry, Iris, I-”

“No, go ahead,” she said easily. Vera looked stressed as hell and she wasn’t about to make it worse. Barry went off with the kids and Iris took the opportunity to look around. They were right in the middle, near the front, and there was a countdown to when the Accelerator would turn on and a big red button that Dr Wells was going to press.

That was Cisco’s idea.

Unfortunately, when Barry got back, Iris’ phone rang. “Hello?”

“Hey, babydoll.”

“Felicity, hey, what’s up?”

“Just wanted to check if we’re still good about that road trip.”

“I think so, it – Wait, Felicity, are those _gunshots_?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah, but it’s cool. We’re dealing with it. _Bomb signature in the lower left tunnel_! So we’re good?”

“Yeah, I  - _Barry, don’t read that_ ,” she said, her hand over the phone. He frowned.

“I thought you wanted me to.”

“I want to see your face when you read it.” She hadn’t written it so she could miss his reaction. Barry rolled his eyes but folded up the paper.

“Caitlin might be coming, which is cool. Anyway, Felicity, I have to go-”

“Oh yeah, the Accelerator’s turning on today, right? I’m watching it on TV.”

“Right. I’ll call you later, okay?”

“We good?” he asked. “Okay. _I am not a scientist_. Wait, is this the dedication?”

“ _Yes_ , Barry, they usually come before the thing.”

“Okay – Oh. There’s Dr Wells,” he said apologetically. He was right – Dr Wells had walked onto the stage, with Cisco, Ronnie and Caitlin standing behind him along with a few other scientists. “Sorry, Iris.”

“It’s okay,” she said, looping her arm through his. “You can read it later.” And when Dr Wells made his speech, and everyone was watching him and clapping, including Barry, Iris was the only one watching Barry. Because to her, he was the best thing in the room.

***

“That was _so cool_ ,” Barry gushed giddily once it was over. Iris watched him, laughing, as they made their way up to the stage. The Accelerator was buzzing all around them, waiters were handing out drinks, and there was music playing from speakers. Several food carts had been set up around the place, and large screens were playing Dr Wells’ interview with Scott Evans from the station. “Wasn’t that cool?”

“The coolest,” she agreed. “I think I – I think I _felt_ it turn on. Is that weird?”

“No, it’s amazing! It’s to do with the particles of the dark matter colliding with the dormant ones in the air and you don’t really care about this, do you?”

“Actually, Barry, after two months, I totally got everything you just said,” she laughed. She led him up the stage. “Come on, let’s go see the others.”

“Team STAR Labs, we did it!” Cisco said once he saw them. He gave Barry a high five. “That was _awesome_! I think my soul left my body for like, just a second. I can still feel this shit vibrating.”

“I get what you mean,” Caitlin agreed. “I got chills.”

“Chills? Really?” Ronnie asked. “I’m burning up.”

“Well, these will fix that,” Cisco said as a waitress came by with some champagne flutes. Barry took two and handed one to Iris. Barry grinned when he recognised the waitress another volunteer. “Hey, Louise.”

“Barry! Oh, who’s this?”

“Iris West,” she said. “I wrote the Article about this.” Louise smiled.

“That article was incredible. And thanks, by the way,” she added, grinning.

“For what?”

“You and Barry made me fifty dollars.”

“Okay, Louise,” Cisco said quickly, “I think those people over there are thirsty. So, a toast,” he added at Barry and Iris’ identical looks, “to two years of blood, sweat and tears.”

Just as they were about to touch glasses, however, one of the technicians ran up to them. “Guys, Dr Wells needs you.”

“What happened?” Caitlin frowned.

“The core is heating up too fast. It’s the same problem we had before, we just need to get the coolant flowing.”

“Right,” Ronnie said. “Cisco, that’s us.” They put their champagne flutes back on the tray and the technician turned to Caitlin.

“Dr Snow, he wants you in the-”

“Cortex,” she finished calmly. “Right away.”

Iris looked after them. “Everything okay?”

“We’ve had this problem tonnes of times,” Cisco said, loosening his tie. “This was something we expected, and we know how to fix it.”

“I guess we’ll see you guys tomorrow?” Barry asked, and they nodded before running off after the technician. Barry sighed, turning back to Iris.

“So, what now?”

“Oh, you know what?” She put her hands on Barry’s chest. “We still have a few hours before our date, so how about we go to the precinct and get those files? Then I can drop them off at home so I can get dressed.”

“Sounds good.”

They got to the station – quickly, since it was starting to rain – and saw Wally and Joe, who was getting ready to leave. “Dad, what’s up?”

“Going off to get the Mardons,” he replied. Barry tipped his head to the side.

“That’s the analysis I ran for you this morning, right?”

“Yup. Best CSI in Central City, right here. Hey, baby, you wanna come over for dinner? Wally and I are watching the game?”

“Actually, Barry and I are getting dinner.” Wally and Joe raised their eyebrows.

“You know, I can pay for it,” Joe says. “The two of you have made me very rich.”

“God, dad,” Iris muttered. “You’re the _worst_.”

Joe chuckled and kissed her on the cheek, before slapping Wally on the shoulder as Chyre called him to go. “Bye, you three. Be good.”

“We will,” they chorused.

“Hey, have you guys talked to Eddie today?” Wally asked.

“This morning,” Barry said. “Why? Is he okay?”

“Bette’s surgery is happening right now, and he’s supposed to call when it’s over.”

“Yeah, he said,” Iris nodded. “I think it’s a few hours? I’ll call him after dinner.”

“Cool.”

They left Wally to play cards with Patty and went upstairs to Barry’s, before packing everything into a file for Iris to carry. “Yeah, I can do this,” Iris nodded, looking at all the diagrams. “I can feel it.”

Barry pulled her into his arms. “I’m so glad I found you.”

“I glad we fucked in the desk chair.”

Barry laughed and kissed her, long and slow, before her phone started ringing. “Sorry…Hey, Linda? No, I don’t hate you. No, it’s okay. Sure.” He hung up. “I have to go get Linda. Mason kept her late and I she doesn’t want to walk home in the storm. You have your car, right?”

“Yeah, in the parking lot.” Barry ran his hands up her sides. “I can’t wait to see you tonight.” She stroked his cheek with the back of her hand.

“Like I said, Barry. All the time in the world.”

***

Barry gave Iris his umbrella and she ran to her car, soaked before she even got in. But even that wasn’t enough to dampen her mood.

“I am so sorry,” Linda apologised once she got in. “The ADR ran long, and-”

“Lin, it’s cool. I have to go home and change anyway.”

Linda grinned and lightning flashed, illuminating her skin as Iris began to drive. “Right. Your date with baguette.”

“I swear to god, if you call him that – Shit!”

“What?”

“I can’t _see_ ,” she replied, squinting out of her windshield. “God, they couldn’t put out a weather warning?”

“Careful, Iris,” Linda said, worried, “we can stop if-”

But then thunder boomed and lightning crashed, and Iris and Linda saw a white and beam of light arc towards the sky, then spread out through the city, cutting out all the lights. They ducked instinctively, not looking up until it was over, until the thunder had stopped shaking their bones and making their teeth vibrate in their skulls. When they did, the street was dark and alarms were blaring. Iris scrabbled around for her phone. “Lin? Linda?”

“I’m okay, are you?”

“I-I think so,” Iris gasped. “What _was_ that?”

“I don’t know,” her friend replied, her breath heavy and shaking. “Hey, let’s get out of this car, I don’t want to drive in the dark.”

They gingerly stepped out, and Linda pulled Iris away from some broken glass. Rain poured in spatters now, but there were puddles everywhere and the alarms were making Iris’ head hurt. “Get your phone,” Linda said. “I’ll use mine as a torch.”

They walked a few blocks, terrified and grasping each other, until Iris found signal. “Great, now I can call – wait, Wally’s calling me. Hey, bro, you okay?”

“Iris.”

And Iris would never forget the way he said her name, as long as she lived.

“Iris,” he said again, his voice shaking in a way that she knew he trying not to cry. “Iris, you have to get to the hospital.”

“Wally? What happened?”

***

Everyone was yelling.

That was what Barry noticed while he was flying.

Was he flying? That’s what it felt like. Maybe that was what happened when you got hit by lightning.

He was trying to close the skylight so his stuff wouldn’t get wet, and that’s when it happened. All the stuff in his beakers started – started _floating_ , and then lightning crashed through the window. And hit him. Then he was asleep, kind of, but he could still hear. Patty, he thought, and Wally, and then a lot of frantic voices and he was hefted up onto something and he was flying. But everything hurt, and he really wanted to sleep.

Then he heard her voice.

“Where is he? _Where is he_?”

 _Iris_.

He tried to get up, to go to her and tell her he was okay because it was wrong, Iris shouldn’t sound like that, Iris shouldn’t be scared. He was supposed to make sure Iris wasn’t scared. But now it was like someone was calling him to sleep.

 _I’m okay, Iris_.

But the words were too heavy in his throat, his body too heavy to move. They had stopped flying now, and he was falling deeper and deeper.

“ _BARRY_!”

_Iris, I’m ok-_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something to note: the next few chapters will be a little different, because I want to explore everyone's reactions to the PA exploding, and I REALLY want to get through the coma so we can have The Flash and Iris working together. Let me know what you guys think, and I honestly love you all for coming back every update.


	21. Nowhere High, Nowhere Warm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Iris, Cisco and Caitlin deal with the aftermath of the Particle Accelerator explosion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, so I'm sorry this was so late, I needed time to wind down after exams. I've tried something new with this in order to explore everyone's grief, so i hope everyone likes it. this one is the longest one yet, btw. TW: minor self-harm

**Iris - December**

The world goes dark. She swears it does. Just…just for a _minute_ , the world goes dark, when Wally says those words.

 _Barry got struck by lightning_.

They’re already in darkness, since that lightning strike, but it goes even darker. Iris feels a chill, her muscles lock up – and then she’s running as fast as she can to Central City Memorial. She has some vague idea that Linda is right behind her, telling to _slow down_ , but she can’t, because Barry is hurt and that’s so foreign to her, she was talking to him thirty minutes ago – he was _in her arms thirty minutes ago_ …

Linda is still telling her to stop, because she may hurt herself, but she can’t. She hurtles through the doors, not caring that her muscles are screaming in agony and that her fingers are bleeding from where she’s scraped them somewhere. She does not care. Because Barry is hurt, and that is all she can see, and all she can feel.

Words filter through and she knows she’s getting close when they start making sense. “ _Barry Allen, 25, unconscious…” “…he’s just a kid, Jesus…” “What happened to him?” “He was struck by lightning_.”

Then she’s bursting through a room as they transfer his prone body from a stretcher to a bed, and she wants to go to him because he looks so vulnerable, her boy, all bleeding and broken like that, especially when they get the paddles out and put them on his chest-

“ _CLEAR_!”

“ _BARRY_!”

“Iris!”

Someone is yelling her name and fighting her so she doesn’t go back into the room she’s just been shoved out of, and she would hit them but then she realises that it’s Linda, trying to calm her down. “Iris,” she says again, her voice trying to soothe even though she looks just as terrified, “Iris, honey, look at me-”

“Barry, they’ve got _Barry_ -”

“I know, they’re trying to fix him-”

“ _CLEAR_!”

Iris lets out more choked sobs and gasps that translate roughly to Barry’s name when she hears them shock him again. “I have to go in there – I have to be with him-”

“Iris, you can’t go in there-”

“ _I have to_!” she screams back, her vocal chords stretched thin. “He’s all alone, he doesn’t have anyone-”

“ _CLEAR_!”

Iris makes another run for the doors, but this time there’s another nurse there to grab her and she along with Linda pull her back to some chairs. It’s then that Iris notices the chaos of the emergency room, that half of the doctors and nurses are already sporting blood form their patients’ injuries, and that the lights keep flickering on and off. But all she can think about is Barry, by himself, with those people who don’t know him or how fragile he is…

“Ma’am – ma’am, I cannot let you in there while he is like this,” the nurse says, and then looks at Linda. “I’m sorry, but if she doesn’t calm down I’ll have to sedate her, I already have patients to deal with.”

“I’ve got her,” Linda says, and then turns back to Iris, who is still shaking. “Iris. Ladybird. Listen to me, okay?”

“Lin, they’ve got Barry…”

“I know, I know they do. It’s gonna be okay, they’re going to fix him. But right now we need to find Wally-”

That snaps Iris out of one bone-crushing terror and straight into another one. “W-Wally? Is he here? Oh, God, he’s not-”

“He’s fine,” Linda assures her, grabbing her hands. “We saw him on the way in, that’s what I was trying to tell you – he and Patty found him and Wally rode with him to the hospital. He can tell us-” But then someone cuts her off, and Iris almost starts crying with relief.

“Where’s my sister? I want to see my sister!”

Something switches in Iris, she feels it, that automatic feeling that a sister gets when their little brother is scared. Because Wally sounds angry – and impatient and irritated and like he is about one sentence away from punching someone – but she knows that he sounds afraid. So she gets up and wipes her eyes and tries to forget that it feels like her world is being ripped apart in front of her. “Wally? Wally, where are you?”

And then he comes around the corner and sees them both, and the scowl melts off his face into relief but does nothing to erase the undercurrent of fear. He runs straight towards her and hugs her tight. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“No,” he replies, and Iris realises that he is wet and shaking, just like them. “No, I’m fine. What about you? Are you guys alright?”

Wally hugs Linda too, who’s expression of relief mirrors her own. “Yeah, I’m fine. A little freaked, but I’m fine. When did you guys get here?”

“A few minutes ago, I think? Wally, they said-” Iris cuts herself off with a choked sob and runs a shaking hand through her hair. At Wally’s worried look she remembers she is the big sister and he is the little brother and that he is the one who needs protecting, because the last time they were in a hospital like this their mother died. She swallows and tries again. “They said you came in with him – what happened?”

“I – it was insane. We were all just hanging out in the precinct, and I was waiting for dad to get back so we could get dinner and watch the game, and then there was this big explosion and the whole building shook. We went upstairs to check on Barry, and – Iris, he was fine when we got him, he was kind of moving, and the ambulance got here really quick, they really did, Iris-”

“I know, Wally,” she assured him, though her own heart isn’t in her chest, it’s there in the room with Barry, where they’re pressing paddles to his chest and trying to get him to wake up. Because _they had her Barry_. “Where’s dad? Do you know?”

“He went out to find the Mardon brothers, we haven’t heard from him, but we think it’s because of the storm. What about the others, have you-”

“ _CLEAR_!”

Iris’ world goes dark again – and then the real world goes dark as well as the lights in the hospital flicker briefly. When they come back on again, about five more doctors are rushing into Barry’s room – and then Iris sees the needles and she can’t breathe, but then she hears Wally make a little scared noise and she remembers that she’s the big sister. “Others? What do you mean?”

“There are power outages all over the city, and I can’t call _anyone_. Not dad, not Eddie, not Kendra or Farooq-”

“Caitlin,” Linda realises. “And Cisco and Ronnie.”

“Oh, Jesus,” Iris breathes. “If they were all down there, then-”

“ _CLEAR_!”

“Damnit, he doesn’t have a _pulse_!”

Something snaps in Iris again and she bolts for the doors, and she doesn’t remember what happens after that apart from a lot of yelling and Wally and Linda trying to calm her down, and then finally someone uses their brain and decides that the best thing to do right now would be to sedate Iris before she actually hits a doctor.

Her father is there next to her when she wakes up, his palm pillowed in his hand. “Barry,” she says groggily, sitting up. “Where…” she swallows and tries to get out of bed, blinking at the sunlight filtering through the windows. “Where is he? Is he awake?”

And Iris already knows the answer before he even opens his mouth, and it is far too much like the time he told her that this was it, that her mother wasn’t going to get better. But that isn’t going to happen to her, and it isn’t going to happen to Barry. The universe wouldn’t be so cruel.

Would it?

“Dad,” she says, fighting to keep her voice steady. “ _Where’s Barry_?”

“Here’s okay,” he assures her. “He’s alive.”

“Dad, I am not a little girl anymore, please don’t try to sugar-coat it. Tell me where he is.”

Her father sighs. “Honey, I’m not lying to you, but Barry…He’s not in a good way, sweetheart.”

Iris stares at him as the world rocks all around her, but she doesn’t break. Now is not the time. “How is he, exactly?”

“He’s still unconscious, but he’s stopped coding. The seizures have stopped, as far as I’m aware, but there is talk that this could lead to a coma.”

All of the wind is knocked out of her and she feels herself start to shake as she closes her eyes. Barry in a coma. Never able to look at her or smile at her or kiss her again. The thought is so foreign to her that she’s tempted to pinch herself, to tell herself that it’s not real, that she needs to wake up and go to work, because the Particle Accelerator is turning on today and Barry will be excited.

But then ten seconds pass and nothing changes – she is still in this room with her father looking at her like she is about to break and the world is still rocking underneath her. She looks at her legs, dangling above the ground, which looks still even though she’s sure it’s rocking and pulsing. And she’s not sure that she can walk in this rocking world, where Barry is in a coma. But Barry would want her to be strong, right? So she can do this little thing. She can do it for him.

She is Iris West. She has always been able to do anything. This will simply be one of them.

Iris lowers herself gingerly on the floor, her feet touching the cold surface, and she looks around for her boots. “I want to see him.”

“Honey, it’s been a hard night – for both of you. You can see him in a few hours-”

“Dad,” she interrupts, and hates the way her voice shakes. She swallows and thinks of Barry, of how strong he’s always been for her even when he didn’t know he was doing it. “Please. _I want to see him_.”

Her father calls the doctor and Iris flinches away from him, because he’s the one who stuck the needle in Barry’s heart a few hours ago and she doesn’t know how she feels about that. “Iris West?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Your father tells me you’re involved with Mr Allen,” he says, looking at a chart. “Is that correct?”

“I’m his…girlfriend,” Iris nods, firmer than she feels, because she’s realising that’s the first time she’s said those words out loud, even though she’s pretty sure they’ve been dating for weeks. She says it again, stronger, because Barry would want her to. “I’m his girlfriend.”

The doctor nods slowly and shares a look with her father before closing the chart and looking back at her. “Miss West…Iris. Bartholomew-”

“Barry,” she interrupts. “His name is Barry.”

“Of course. Iris, Barry was hit with a very high-powered electric charge on the top floor of a five-storey building. As you saw before you, ah, before we-”

“Before you sedated me,” she interrupts evenly. Maybe that’s it. Maybe if she sticks with that even, deadened tone she doesn’t have to fall apart – she can be together and whole to prepare herself for what she is about to see. The doctor shares another look with her father and she waits patiently for him to continue.

“As you saw, he was repeatedly going into cardiac arrest and then having seizures, which I myself have never experienced. Though we’ve gotten it under control now – Barry has not gone into cardiac arrest for the last few hours, nor has he seized – he has not yet woken up.”

“I want to see him,” Iris says again, and when the doctor starts to interrupt her, she cuts him off before he can speak. “I know he’s not going – going to look good. But I have to see him. Please.”

One foot in front of the other. Slowly, navigating the rocking world. The hospital looks different when she isn’t near-hysterical with worry, when lightning is striking and rain isn’t lashing at the windows and the nurses and doctors aren’t screaming for assistance. The ground is still shaking, though. That much hasn’t changed. It’s when she remembers every detail of the night before, that Linda had brought her here and then Wally had joined them, that she wonders where they are.

“Linda and Wally went home, but they’ll be back later,” her father says, making her realise that she’d spoken aloud. “They wanted to check on the others.”

Iris frowns. “Others? What others?”

But they are in Barry’s room now, and the world rocks and then it goes dark again, but she is Iris West and she needs to be strong for Barry because he’s always been strong for her, so she closes her eyes and breathes in so she’s accustomed to the smell of hospital disinfectant. And then she opens them so they can see what they’ve done to her Barry.

“What….is all this?”

Barry is prone on the bed, and so peaceful-looking that he really could be asleep. But then she sees the stitches on his left arm – from glass, she’ll learn later – and the bruise on his forehead, and the…and the lightning burns that are peeking over his shoulders and snaking onto his chest, because the doctors will tell her that he was hit from above, so his whole nervous system was affected. But then there are the tubes and wires – going into his mouth, up his nose, injected into his arm… “You said – he’s in a coma?”

“That’s correct,” the doctor nods. “Medically-induced, for now, but it is likely that he’ll still be in one when the swelling in his brain.”

Swelling. In his _brain_. “Why?”

“Well, the electric shock caused extensive damage to his nervous system, rending him unable to regulate his own body temperature or breathing. Moreover-”

“I think that’s enough, doctor,” her father interrupts, but she shakes her head. Someone has to know what’s wrong with Barry – all of it. He doesn’t have anyone else.

“No, I want to know. What do you – what do _we_ have to do?”

“Miss West, as I said, Barry is in a coma, and it is very likely that he will remain in one for the foreseeable future. The only thing we can do, for now, is to reassess when he has recovered from his more pressing injuries.”

Iris has always liked his hair – a deep rich brown and unfairly thick and lustrous, like his unfairly long and incredible pretty eyelashes. She stokes that hair and looks at those eyelashes now, pillowed on his cheek in little strands. He really could be sleeping. He _is_ sleeping. And Iris just has to hold on until he does.

“His dad,” she croaks, and then clears her throat. “His dad, I have to tell him. I have to tell Henry. And he has to come and see him – do they let prisoners visit family? They do that, of course they do that. And work, but you can just tell them that Barry’s in the hospital, so you can get a temp, or make an arrangement with the external lab.”

Her father blinks. “O-Of course, Iris, but-”

“And his car, I can drive that home from the station,” she continues, the list growing and growing in her head. “He wouldn’t want it sitting there. And Jay and Joan, they’d want to know, I shouldn’t let them worry, but they’ll still want to know, they’re his family, his family should know. And his bills, they usually go out on the same day every month, but his rent doesn’t and neither does his insurance, I should make sure that’s okay. Where are his keys?” she asks suddenly, and the doctor looks around.

“Ah, there, on the bedside table,” he says. “Miss West-”

“I want to be on his emergency contact list,” she says as she crosses the room to pick it up. The world rocks again a little when she picks up his keys with the little solar system keychain on it, but she closes her eyes briefly and steadies herself. Barry will want her strong when he wakes up. “And you need to call me if anything changes. Alright?”

“Of course. Is there anything else that you need?”

“I’ll let you know,” Iris says, much more authoritative than she feels, going back to stroking Barry’s hair. His skin is warm beneath her fingers, so Iris is sure that this is just temporary, that he will wake up soon. She’s a reporter and she’s seen the news – the amount of times people have been in comas from lightning strikes only to wake up a few days later is a little ludicrous. Barry will be awake soon.

He will.

“Iris,” her father says. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, dad. Tired, obviously. A little shell-shocked. And this is…Well, you heard what the doctor said.” She gives him a hopeful smile and tries to put some warmth into it. “No point in panicking yet, right?”

Her father opens his mouth to say something else, but then his phone buzzes and his face falls. “Dad? What is it?”

“It’s…It’s Eddie.”

Iris frowns. “Dad? What happened to Eddie?”

He looks at her and sighs, rubbing his eyes, and that’s when Iris knows that it’s bad, that impossibly, Barry being in this coma – which is _temporary_ , she reminds herself – might not be the worst of it. She runs through the list of everyone she loves, of all the people that could be hurt because of course this thing, whatever it was, must have hurt more people than just her Barry, but the thought is too much, and she can’t do it. But she’s wrong.

The universe is that cruel.

She learns about it in little parts as her father takes her home to shower and change, and then to find out where Wally has gone. It’s odd that nothing much looks different, when Iris’ world feels fundamentally changed. And even though she’s now wearing flat boots instead of the heels she’d worn to the Particle Accelerator the night before, the world is still rocking, and she wants it to stop. First there is Chyre, her dad’s first partner before Eddie and a favourite at the precinct, killed while the Mardon brothers were trying to escape. Her father tells her that Farooq has gone missing along with some of Wally’s friends, and all of his class have been called at some point during the night while they are in the car on the way to the hospital. And Eddie…

“He’s still…Well, they sedated him too, but I think he’s still in shock,” her father tells her as they come up to the barriers. Iris nods, tears leaking from her eyes, still in shock herself. Either her father called ahead and told someone they were coming or a detective\s badge has an impressive amount of pull, because they are waved through the gates at Central City Military Hospital with relatively little fuss. “He’s awake and his mother was with him, but I just thought that he’d want to see a familiar face.”

“T-Tell me again,” Iris says hollowly, because surely this is too much. The universe cannot take this much from them. This has to be some sort of joke. “What happened?”

“The same thing as last night, only Bette didn’t get struck by the lightning. She was in surgery while it was happening, and then all the lights went out, but I think whatever the Particle Accelerator did something to the machinery, because Bette, she-” Her father cuts himself off, his voice gruff and his eyes bright with grief. “Jesus Christ. I can’t believe this happened to her – I can’t believe this is happening to _Eddie_. First her tour gets moved up so they can’t get married, then she gets injured in Afghanistan…and now this.”

Iris is shaking as they get out of the car, but makes herself stop. There are two people hurt now, Barry and Eddie, and she has to be strong for them, it’s not use crying all the time. And she is good at this, she is – she’s comforted her brother when their mother died, she comforted Felicity when they were attacked by Cooper – she can do this. She can be strong.

“You said his mom went to get Bette’s parents?” Iris says as they walk into the reception. There are soldiers and doctors everywhere, and Iris recognises some of the people from the precinct interviewing and asking questions. Her heart constricts when she sees Patty talking to someone that looks like the leader, and she wants to go up to her and thank her for helping to save Barry, but then the world starts to tip on its axis again and she has to look away before she falls over.

“Yeah,” her father replies as he flashes his badge again. “I offered to do it, but I don’t know Meloni or Christopher that well, and Liz wanted someone to be with Eddie while she went to the airport.”

Iris nods as they make their way through the hospital. She expects the doctors and nurses to be strict and unforgiving, but even this tragedy has made them less hard because no one looks twice at her. Which means that everything really is as bad as they’re saying. And Barry…

No. She is not going to think about Barry. Barry is fine. This coma is temporary – he could well be awake by the time she gets back. Besides, Barry loves Eddie, and he’ll want her to be strong for him. To be strong for both of them. So she walks into the room where Eddie is sleeping, curled in on himself the way he was after his father’s funeral when she and Linda took turns staying with him until he talked about it. She thinks he is sleeping, but she is wrong, because when she comes into his line of sight she sees that his pretty blue eyes are wide red-rimmed from crying, that his face is covered in stubble, and his hair and clothes are rumpled.

“Hey, partner, look who I found,” her father says softly, and Iris takes it as her cue. She kneels next to him and takes his hand, her heart breaking at the sorrow in his eyes. “Eddie, honey. _I am so sorry_.”

“They were almost finished,” he says in this hoarse, hollow voice that terrifies her because she is certain she has _never_ heard Eddie sound like that before. “They had cleaned out all the dirt and corrected stuff they did in the plane on the way over, all the trauma surgeons, and they were starting the extraction, and the lights went out. I was holding lilies,” he adds almost to himself, and Iris sees that they are scattered in the corner by the window. “Bette likes lilies, did you know that? She always takes one with her when she leaves base, tucked into her uniform. We were going to have them the wedding.”

And Eddie is crying now, and when Eddie cries Iris cries as well and so does Linda, and he hasn’t cried since he was a teenager, not that Iris knows anyway, so even though she knows she’s supposed to be strong she can’t help it and the tears start flowing down her face.

“She was supposed to be my wife,” he sobs brokenly, his mouth wobbling, and Iris can do nothing but stroke his hair and make comforting noises. “I wanted her to be my wife. Where’s my wife, Iris? _Where’s my wife_?”

He keeps asking her that, and Iris wishes she can tell him, and a few minutes later Linda turns up and she’s been crying as well, and they comfort their friend from childhood, and Iris knows that the world is rocking and she is trying to hold herself together. And she says to herself that it’s because she’s being strong for Eddie and that he needs them right now, but she knows it’s really because Eddie – steadfast, strong and sweet Eddie – is broken, maybe beyond repair, and she doesn’t want to admit that if she doesn’t figure out how to stop the world from shifting underneath her she’ll be just like him.

And Iris knows she won’t be able to take it.

Barry isn’t awake when she gets back. But that’s okay. It’s only been a few hours. She tries to clamp down on the roiling in her stomach and strokes his hair a couple of times. She’s in here alone – she asked for it after the doctors updated her on his progress – and Linda is waiting outside. She opens her mouth to speak, but she doesn’t want to disturb him or give voice to the fear that it getting a little harder to keep down. So she kisses his forehead lightly and walks back out again to Linda.

It’s not until later, when she’s in bed and Wally has told her that his friends are most likely missing or dead, when Bette’s comrades are helping Eddie and his family plan the funeral (Iris and Linda will be there later in the week), and when Linda tells her that something has gone wrong and now nobody can find Ronnie and Caitlin won’t talk, that she realises it’s the first time in her life that it’s only been one day.

And that it will get much, _much_ worse.

***

There’s no end to the day, not really. Because the end of the day is when you take off your bra and drink wine and watch Netflix. The end of the day is when you come _home_. But Barry – he is her home. She cannot go home without him. So when she visits him a week later – when his bruises are healed and his bandages are removed, she holds his hand, and tells him she loves him, and she’s home. Just for a few minutes. One tear slips out, because that is all she will allow herself, and she knows that Barry is doing his best to wake up. He is doing his best to come back to her. So she’ll be strong and she won’t waste any time crying.

Her father, Wally and Linda all offer to go with her, but she wants to do this by herself. She should have been the one to tell him, but she’d been sedated, and Joe was a parent and he knew that Henry would want to know immediately, so he just called the prison and told him. Iris has already told Jay and Joan, and she’s pretty proud of herself because she didn’t cry even when Joan started crying through her promises to come visit and making Iris promise to keep her updated, and she had briefly considered telling Barry’s relatives in National City, but the thought makes her want to smash windows, so she doesn’t.

The prison guard doesn’t recognise her but her name is on the list and Henry is expecting her, so she sits down in front of the pane of glass and waits. “Iris,” he says quietly. “You’re here.”

“No change,” she says quickly, which seems rude, but Henry Allen’s son is in a coma and he likely thinks that everyone is coming here to tell him that his son has died. Iris sighs inwardly – she should be better at hiding her emotions. She is supposed to be strong for Barry – for all of them. “I just came to tell you how he’s doing, and check up on you.”

Henry nods and Iris swallows. “He, um, doesn’t have any more external injuries, so everything’s healed up. He only seized once today, but they stabilised him and put in a tube to…” Iris swallows. “S-Sorry. They think too many seizures might stop his lungs from functioning, and they just want to be prepared. And, um, his heart stopped. A few times, actually. But everything still looks okay, and they’re still optimistic. He’s just taking a little longer than we thought.”

Henry sighs and nods, and Iris remembers her dad telling her that when you tell a parent that their child is in danger, they do not sleep. They eat, but they don’t taste the food. They don’t hear anything until their child is okay, until they can hear them speaking. And Iris notices that even though Barry looks a lot like his mother, there is something about the slump of Henry’s shoulders and the downturned expression that reminds her of Barry, that makes her want to comfort him. She presses her hand to the glass lightly. “He’s going to be okay, Henry,” she says softly, like she still believes it as much as she did a week ago. “He’s going to come back to us.”

“I know,” he replies. “I know he is. How are you, Iris? How are you doing?”

“Me?” Iris smiles brightly, because she’s gotten better at that, the smiling when she’s getting more hollow. “I’m fine. A little worried about Caitlin, because Ronnie – well, I guess you saw the news. And they’re having Bette’s funeral in a few weeks, and Eddie’s a mess. And Dr Wells is still recovering and everyone is leaving STAR Labs.” Iris doesn’t add more than that, though, because even though even she knows that Dr Wells will likely be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, his name induces that window-smashing feeling that sometimes bubbles up.

Henry frowns a little. “I’m sorry to hear all of that, Iris, of course I am, but I was talking about _you_. Have you taken a minute? Just, to yourself? It’s important that you do that, you know.”

But she doesn’t need a minute, which is what she tells Henry even though he doesn’t look like he believes her, but it’s the truth. She’s fine.

“I saw your dad today,” she says later, when she’s next to him. It is closer to Christmas and she’s slowly bringing in little things – a reindeer, a Christmas card, some baubles to hang up around the place. Iris is by herself again because Linda is back at work and everyone has their own stuff to deal with. And she wants to talk to him, just for a little, even though the thought of it makes the world rock _and_ her stomach churn when she realises that he isn’t going to reply.

“He’s really worried, Barry, but I know you’ll come back. I know how hard you’re trying, and I know you don’t want to be gone.” She moves to grab his hands again and strokes his knuckles. “So you take your time, and you get better, and we’ll be here. Okay? Okay, Barry?”

She doesn’t realise that she’s crying until the tears splash on the bed and her hands are shaking and her voice breaks on the end of her words, and then Linda knocks on the door because they have to go see Mason about work. So she wipes her tears because she’s Iris West and she’s being strong, even though she’s starting to get worried because the nurses are talking about how if Barry codes or seizes much more his condition will start to deteriorate.

***

Iris is working when his heart stops next time.

She’s there sometimes on the weekend with her laptop and some stories, just typing because she enjoys his company even though she misses his voice. She talks to him, and is almost used to the fact that he won’t reply, but at least if she’s along no one will see her crying if she slips up.

Mason actually did the unthinkable and offered her some time off, which she refused to take even though her dad and Wally and Linda all said that she should, but she needs the distraction from everything – Bette’s funeral, Ronnie being missing, Barry’s coma. Work is normal. It is not home, like Barry is, but it is normal. So she is not expecting it when the beeping starts.

“Barry? Barry, what – _nurse_!” Iris gasps as Barry starts jerking around in the bed because he’s seizing _and_ coding, and she doesn’t know how he can be doing both – isn’t that medically impossible? – and then the world is tipping and her stomach is churning and she has a pressing pain in her temples, and she feels something inside her shift. The nurses and doctors swarm in and something feral inside her wants to jump on all of them, to protect Barry from them, but they shove her out of the room again before she can do anything.

And Iris can’t breathe.

It’s like there’s no air in room, or the corridor, or the _world_ , because surely she should be able to breathe. Surely she should be able to suck a few measly lungfuls of air inside her so she can stop feeling so goddamn lightheaded. But she can’t, not for a few seconds, while they’re pressing on Barry’s chest and sticking more needles in him and calling out horrible words like ‘ _code blue_ ’ and ‘ _cardiac arrest_ ’ and ‘ _pneumothorax_ ’, so she forces her eyes tight shut and presses her palms to her face.

 _I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not_ -

“Miss West? Miss West, Barry is stable.”

Iris takes her hands away from her face, blinks a few times, until the doctor comes into view, shutting the door to Barry’s room. She wipes her eyes hastily and nods. “Okay. Thank you, doctor.” He nods once, his expression still worried, and the world tips again.

“Miss West, it appears our initial assessments were incorrect,” he continues. “We thought that Mr Allen’s stability would be unbroken and that he would be awake by now, but what is becoming more apparent is that the lightning did extensive damage to his brain and body, and he may have to remain here longer.”

The world doesn’t tip, but it does go dark, and Iris feels the wind get knocked out of her. But her head is nodding and she is saying words, so maybe it isn’t that bad. “Okay, doctor. What does that mean? What do you need me to do?”

It means that Iris has to go to Barry’s apartment and pick up some stuff for him, as well as find Henry again and talk about what he wants for Barry’s care. It means that they will have to go into Barry’s medical records and see whether there is any residual damage from being beaten up in school. It means that Barry won’t wake up soon.

He might not wake up at all.

But Iris is still on autopilot, so her voice is chipper when she calls Linda to ask her get some of Barry’s stuff to the hospital for her, and she manages to ignore the concern that’s in Linda’s eyes – actually, everyone has that look when they’re around her now. She doesn’t want to know why. She is in Barry’s room when it hits her, though.

Iris has been in his apartment a few times, of course, and she knows his desk well enough. She gets his medical insurance for herself so she can make decisions about it, picks up his bills for the month of December – and reminds herself to check that the central heating has been turned off. And she is fine through that. She is even fine when she gets some pictures of his parents and his friends and her for his bedside table, because if he’s going to be there after Christmas then those decorations won’t be enough. She is even fine when she remembers that Barry gets very cold feet and that he needs lots of socks.

But then Iris goes to his desk and sees the CCPD jersey draped over the back of it, the one he let her wear after their first official night together, and how he’d made her breakfast and then she got to meet his dad, and they were just so full of _possibility_. And she wants to take it, but it’s too small for him, and she can’t take it for herself because it reminds her too much of when they were hopeful.

“Where are you, Barry?” she whispers quietly, her chin wobbling and her throat tight. “Why aren’t you coming back? _Why aren’t you coming back to me_?”

She crumples to the floor, sobbing into the shirt, and Linda find her a few seconds later and Iris doesn’t care that she isn’t strong – the world keeps shaking and everything is spinning and she always walks around like something is waiting to jump out at her. Her friend pulls her into her arms and shushes her, and Iris lets out everything she’s been carrying for three weeks.

“H-He’s getting worse, Lin,” Iris sobs, the words like knives. “The doctors are doing everything and I’m doing everything and Henry misses him so much, but he’s getting worse and I don’t…”

“Shh, honey, come on…”

“I don’t know what to do, and I miss him so much…”

“I know, I know you do. We all do.”

“One week,” she whispers, still crying. “I had him for a _week_ , Linda, and why? For what? Because I was too stupid and too impatient and too selfish to understand what he was going through.” She sniffles. “If I’d forgiven him sooner, or tried to talk to him, then he wouldn’t be there, he wouldn’t be like this – it’s my fault-”

“Iris,” Linda interrupts in a stern voice, even though she’s crying too. “Listen to me. Are you listening?”

“Y-Yes.”

“There is not a goddamn reason for you to believe that boy is not going to wake up and make his way back to you, understand?”

“But-”

“No buts,” her friend cuts her off. “Now, I’ve been waiting for you to stop this bullshit ‘I have to be strong for everyone else’ nonsense, and I’m glad you have. Because now you can understand that the only person you need to be strong for is yourself. And I have seen how much Barry loves you, Iris. He’ll come back.”

Iris sniffles. “Do you promise?”

“Of course I promise, ladybird.”

But even then, when they’ve gotten Barry’s room more homey and Henry has been informed and they have a quiet Christmas and a quiet New Year in the later weeks, Iris cannot shake the feeling that she cannot do this without Barry.

Without him, there is nowhere high.

***

**Cisco - January**

“Please state your full name.”

“Francisco Valentin Ramon.”

“Date of birth.”

“April 20th, 1989.”

“Occupation?”

“Structural engineer.” And Cisco clears his throat. “At STAR Labs.”

The lawyer walks in front of the judge, her hands behind her back. “Mr Ramon, the purpose of this deposition is to determine the extent to which Dr Harrison Wells and his direction at STAR Labs over the Particle Accelerator was responsible for the fact that it malfunctioned and caused extensive damage to Central City.”

Cisco goes to push his hair behind his ear, but then he remembers that his mother made him tie his hair back, along with the suit that she made him wear. Instead, he adjusts the tie and swallows. “I understand.”

“Good. Please tell me, in your own words, how the idea for the Particle Accelerator came to be.”

Cisco takes a sip of water and starts to talk. He has practiced this, and anyway, he likes the story of the Particle Accelerator came to be. It’s hard though, because it’s almost two weeks into depositions and even though there aren’t as many picketers outside the courthouse steps, the people in the gallery are still staring at him like he is the villain, like he is the one who took their loved ones and destroyed their city and wrecked their lives. And he does not blame them. Because if they’re not the villain, then who is?

“…so the reason for the physical aspect was-”

“Mr Ramon,” she interrupts. “That will be enough. Now, can you describe what happened the night of the Particle Accelerator explosion?”

“O-Okay,” Cisco says. “Yeah, I can do that. Um, so, we had the thing, we turned it on, it was _awes_ \- um, immensely satisfying. And we were celebrating with some friends-” and Cisco remembers that he has to see Barry today “-but there was a problem with the coolant and we had to go in and fix it.”

“What kind of problem?”

“You ever seen Star Trek?”

Her lips go thin. “I have not.”

Cisco’s face falls. “Oh. Well, imagine your computer overheats and the fan breaks. Only instead of a fan, it’s a cooling liquid that counteracts the fact that the machine will overheat.”

“It’s inevitable?”

“Like your computer.”

“So when you turned on the Particle Accelerator, it overheated, and you sent Ronald Raymond down there to check on it, you all knew you were essentially sending him down into a death trap.”

Cisco blinks, alarmed. “I – no. Ronnie was aware, I mean, he wasn’t – It wasn’t a death trap-”

“Were those a part of the emergency protocols? To send people downstairs into a underground radiator?”

Cisco looks around – nobody is on his side. He rubs his temples briefly. “We’d sent people down there before, so-”

“So it was merely a question of who was unlucky enough to get sent down there when the Particle Accelerator inevitably heated up?”

“N-No. But-”

But then everyone goes silent and it’s like the temperature inside this room has changed. Everyone turns, and then Cisco looks to the back of the room and realises why. A man in a wheelchair comes into the room, his blue eyes calm and steady behind black-rimmed glasses. He also looks like he doesn’t notice the weight of all the gazes that press on him as he moves through to take his place on the left side of the courtroom. Even the lawyer cannot hide her disdain.

“Dr Wells,” she says quietly. “Glad you could join us.”

“Thank you, counsellor,” he replies. “Please, continue.”

“Oh, I think we’ve gotten almost everything we need.” She turns back to Cisco. “Mr Ramon. In December 2012, the Particle Accelerator was turned off after fifteen minutes because of a malfunction. Dr Wells apparently did not feel it was safe to continue the project further without more developments, which he has spent the past year implementing.  Is there any reason to believe that Dr Wells abandoned such restraint now?”

It is the only answer he’s confident of, and he looks at Dr Wells when he says it. “No. I know Dr Wells. He would never willingly put anyone in danger.”

But Dr Wells can’t look at him.

***

“So, that was fun,” he says cheerily, sipping his coffee. “After I said that, everyone looked at me like I said I was Emperor Palpatine, and then the counsellor tried to kill me with her eyes.”

“Uh-huh,” Caitlin says, stirring her coffee.

“And then Counsellor Crazy Eyes pretty much told the whole court that Dr Wells tried to kill us all with his death-trap machine.” Cisco rubs his eyes and sighs. “This is the fourth time I’m doing this, and I feel like I’m only making everything worse. But-”

“There’s no one else left,” Caitlin finishes quietly. She puts her teaspoon down. “The rest of the biomedical department left today.” Cisco’s face falls briefly but then he puts on a smile.

“Ah, who needs those guys? They were always the most boring at all the parties. They always brought the mood down.” He pauses. “Who’s left?”

“You, me, and Dr Wells.”

Cisco almost drops his cronut. “W-What? Seriously? That can’t be right.”

Caitlin gives him a look behind eyes that haven’t had any light behind them since that night in December a month ago. “Cisco, every morning I come to work and park my car in the parking lot underground. I count everyone who comes up there with me. This morning, apart from the custodians, the cleaners and the lawyers who are taking inventory, I was the only one. I’m right.”

Cisco is about to reply – maybe with a joke that could cheer her up even though he’s pretty certain that she hasn’t smiled in weeks – but then someone walks into Jitters that he recognises from the trial. He puts his head down into his coffee, like he’s gotten used to doing, but they come right up to him, glaring.

“You’re one of the scientists,” she says, glaring at him. “From that place – from STAR Labs. You’re one of them.”

“Ma’am, I don’t think we’re supposed to talk to each other-”

“My daughter’s dead,” she snaps at him, tears leaking out of her eyes. “She was in the building next to yours when that… _thing_ exploded. And now you’re there, every day, trying to blame it on the weather or bad luck or a _coolant_.”

“Ma’am-”

“Like it wasn’t anything to do with you, like it wasn’t _your fault_!”

Everyone is staring at them now, even the baristas. But no one comes to his defence, and Cisco isn’t surprised. He takes a deep breath. “Ma’am, I am deeply sorry for your loss, and I hope our two sides can come to some agreement and move forward.”

The speech that the lawyers gave them to say to everyone, Cisco is sure, has got to be at least a third of the reasons the people at STAR Labs have left. So he isn’t surprised when the woman curses at him, her face twisted in disdain, and then stalks off. He swallows, still shaking, and gestures with his head so that he and Caitlin leave, gazes still boring into his back as they walk out the door.

They drive to STAR Labs in silence, because Cisco is shaken and Caitlin doesn’t speak anymore. As days go, it’s a pretty good one, especially compared to the beginning when Dr Well was still in surgery and STAR Labs was filled with lawyers that didn’t agree and human resources trying to stop everyone from leaving en masse. Cisco and Caitlin haven’t left, though. Cisco because he still has projects and patents that he’s committed to, and Caitlin because…well, he’s not sure she’s ready to let go.

“I’m seeing Ronnie’s parents today,” she says evenly as the go up the elevator to the Cortex. Cisco looks at her.

“You want me to come with you? It has to be hard, you don’t have to go alone-”

“It’s okay, Cisco. Besides, you have to have dinner with your parents sometime.”

Cisco glares at his hands and folds his arms. “What, so they can tell me how I’ve wasted my life and I should leave you and Dr Wells because I’ll ruin my reputation?”

“Well,” Caitlin says. “I’m sure dessert will be lovely.”

Cisco wants to laugh, but there is this aching, grieving silence that coats STAR Labs and he’s not sure that she even knows what she said can be taken as a joke. So he just nods, and walks into the Cortex where he’s left his stuff, and gets back to work. He misses the noise, of course, of the kids running around downstairs, or Ronnie banging in and demanding wrenches, and even Hartley coming in and telling him that he’s a disgrace to scientific research, but this is nice too.

He guesses.

Cisco likes this project, even though a part of him knows it’s fruitless. Barry says that the Central City Fire Department are always complaining that they need better uniforms, but the budget cuts that went on at the State Department meant that they couldn’t afford them. So Cisco thinks that if he makes some for free, the city won’t hate Dr Wells so much.

Fat chance.

But he works diligently through the day, tweaking and testing and polishing, until he thinks he has a material that’s strong enough to make into a whole uniform. Even though the red may be a little bright for a firefighter’s uniform. Still, though. Red is cool. He works and ignores the lawyers who come in to yell at Dr Wells, ignores the people who are walking out and not coming back, ignoring the people who are here to pack up some of the medical equipment to pay the bills. He works and works and works, and tries his hardest to forget that his life and the lives of everyone around them are falling apart.

But eventually the clock hits six and his mother calls to make sure that he’s bringing wine, and pretty soon he is standing in front of his parents’ oak door in a suit that is too tight and he’s wondering if he should text Ronnie to call him with an emergency – But wait. There’s not more Ronnie. And no more Barry. He’s on his own. He sighs and knocks on the door.

“Carino!” his mother exclaims, pulling him into a hug. Cisco smiles at his mother as she kisses him on both cheeks and ushers him inside to the smell of warm tacos and cake. He spots his father setting the table and grins at him. And then Dante comes down the stairs.

“Finally decided to leave that sinking ship?” Cisco presses his lips together and his mother makes a warning noise.

“Dante…”

“It’s okay, mom,” Cisco says easily. “People who are unemployed and living at home often have time to perfect their jokes. Ten out of ten, Dante.”

His brother rolls his eyes. “Always so sensitive. Well, at least you know you’re the best structural engineer in that place.”

Red. The red of those suits that he is making is what Cisco sees. Because everyone knows that that Ronnie was the best structural engineer. But all he says is, “Who’s got the wine?”

Dinner is a nice affair, as nice as it can be, and Cisco is bonding as best he can, but there is something missing, and he can’t figure out what it is. But then, halfway through dessert, he realises what it is.

“So, Cisco, I know you were deposed today,” his father says. He grabs him by the shoulder, his eyes concerned. “Were you okay? Did you were the tie tu madre got you?”

“I did,” he nods. “It was…Well, it was what it was. Dr Wells needs me, so…”

“Well, you just tell the truth, my love,” his mother tells him. “You were always so good at being honest. With that face? Who wouldn’t believe you? And then as soon as it’s all over you can find another job.”

Cisco frowns. “I don’t want another job. I want to keep working for Dr Wells.”

“Why?” she laughs. “That place is cursed – have you seen what they’re saying on the news? Why would you want to waste your time there?”

“I have commitments,” Cisco points out. “I have patents and studies and people I’ve signed contracts with-”

“Essentially, you don’t want to find anything new,” Dante interrupts, and Cisco narrows his eyes at him.

“Watch it, Dante,” he says in Spanish, but his brother apparently doesn’t care.

“Well, am I wrong? STAR Labs blew a hole in the city, killed dozens of people, destroyed countless businesses-”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about-”

“And besides, why would you want to work for the man who killed your friends?”

“ _You shut up about my friends_ ,” Cisco says in a cold voice. “You – you have no idea what Ronnie and Caitlin and Barry gave up. How much they believed in Dr Wells and what we were doing. But you never cared about me and what I did, and you sure as fuck didn’t care about them-”

“Francisco!” his mother admonishes.

“-so _you shut up about them_.”

Cisco is shaking and that’s when he realises it. He loves his family. Truly, he does. Even Dante, who makes him want to punch his stupid face whenever he sees it. But he has another family. A more accepting one than this one. And they’re missing or gone, like Barry and Bette and Ronnie, or broken from the loss, like Caitlin or Iris or Eddie, and he is here, when he should be with them. With his other family.

“Thanks for inviting me,” he says, standing up. “But this was a bad idea.”

He kisses his mother on the cheek and hugs his father, ignoring their protests as he walks out.

***

“…so anyway, I’m going to hell,” he finishes. “Because aside from not taking off my shoes in my abuela’s house, I’m pretty sure cursing at my mother’s dinner table is the worst thing you can do.”

Barry doesn’t reply, obviously. Iris told him, before she left for work, that this is the sixth week of his coma and the doctors are worried that he isn’t getting any better. But this is Barry. _Barry_. He’s always been one to surprise them all.

“You know,” he says slowly. “You could have told me about your dad. Earlier, I mean. Like, you’re not the only one with bad parents. There’s a reason nobody sends Anakin Skywalker father’s day cards. But I know, your dad didn’t do it,” he adds quickly. “Just, um, you could have told me. I could have been there for you. And – And, you know, you take your time coming back. Just so long as you’re back before the new season of Game of Thrones, because those dragons? They’re about to _fuck_. _Shit_. _Up_.”

The doctors come in then and tell him that he has to leave, and when he goes back to STAR Labs he finds that they’re talking about Barry there, too. It’s been a couple of weeks since that final deposition, and the final verdict will be out soon. Caitlin and Dr Wells are in the cortex, and Cisco is surprised to find that she is animated for once.

“What’s going on?”

“We’re studying Barry’s films,” Caitlin says. “I asked to look at them for medical research purposes.”

“And they let you?”

“No, I got Felicity to hack into the hospital records to get them for me.”

Cisco crosses to the fridge and cracks open some soda. “And what’d you find?”

“Barry’s heart isn’t stopping, and he isn’t having seizures,” Dr Wells says. “His heart rate is going too fast for the machines to pick up.”

“Is that – That’s not possible,” he says, frowning. “Caitlin, is that possible?”

His friend shrugs. “The body does amazing things, Cisco. Especially when they’ve been struck by lightning.”

“But this is great!” he exclaims. “You guys can figure out what’s wrong with him, why he’s not waking up-”

“We tried, Cisco,” Caitlin interrupts. “I have a whole medical plan ready, complete with risks and benefits for each path. They kicked us out before we could even finish.”

“B-But it’s _Barry_. We have to do whatever we can.”

“I’m afraid, Mr Ramon,” Dr Wells says, taking off his glasses, “any faith that you have in me is simply not enough to let the hospital release Mr Allen into my care.”

Cisco frowns down at his hands, which are shaking again. “I don’t have a lot of family,” Cisco says quietly. “I mean, I’ve got _family_ , but they’ve never really accepted me, I’ve always been on the outside. But Ronnie and Barry and you guys – you’re my family. And what we did here, we broke it, and we broke a lot of other families too. But we can fix this one, I know we can. And if you give up, if you let Barry die even though you could have had a chance to save him? That’s when you become a villain.”

Caitlin looks at Dr Wells, who doesn’t take his steely blue eyes from Cisco’s face. “Well, Mr Ramon. You certainly have a way with words. When should we try again?”

“How about right now? Iris will be there, and she’s the one we have to convince,” Caitlin suggests. “Trust me.”

But it’s easier said than done.

Because when they get there, Barry is seizing, and Iris is snapping at a doctor, tears flowing down her cheeks. “You said he was stable!” she screams at him. “What the hell is wrong with you? _You’re supposed to be doctors_!”

“Miss West, you already know my position-”

“ _I am not turning him off_! If you even – Get out.”

“Miss West-”

“ _Get out_!”

Iris watches the doctor leaves, and then turns and sees Cisco and Caitlin standing there and her face jolts. She wipes her eyes quickly, biting her lip when someone yells out that Barry’s heart wall will disintegrate if this happens for much longer, and takes a deep breath. “Sorry, guys, I didn’t see you there. Listen, I know you came to see Barry, but it’s been a really hard day for all of us, and-”

“No, that’s what we mean,” Cisco interrupts, feeling some semblance of hope again. “We’re thinking with all the equipment we have at STAR Labs, we can figure out what’s wrong with him, and then we can make him better. And Caitlin-”

“Iris, I already have several ideas about what’s causing Barry’s condition,” she says calmly, though she doesn’t sound as enthused as Cisco. “If you release him into our care, we might be able to prevent any further damage.”

Iris runs a shaking hand through her hair and glances between them. “I-I don’t understand – I don’t understand, what are you saying? And Cisco, you’re an engineer, and Caitlin, you’re only one doctor, who’s care am I going to-”

“Miss West,” Dr Wells interrupts as he wheels around the corner. And Cisco swears that the temperature drops about twenty degrees at the look on Iris’ face.

“Dr Wells,” she nods evenly, folding her arms.

“It’s good to see you, although I’m sorry that it’s in these…unfortunate circumstances.”

“Sorry doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

Dr Wells takes of his glasses. “Miss West, I cannot even imagine the anger you must be feeling, the despair and the hopelessness-”

“Well, at least that’s one thing you got right,” Iris laughs bitterly, and Cisco recoils, because this is what grief does to people, it makes people like Iris, who are usually fun and warm and bubbly into these dark and twisted things that mean you don’t recognise them. “Must be good for your career.”

“Iris-” Cisco starts.

“You’re kidding me, right? You’ve got to be kidding. Because the only way you would actually think that after everything Barry’s body has been through in the past two months, I would release him into the custody of the _man who killed him_ is that you’re joking. Because that’s what you want me to do, right? You want me to turn him over to you so you can do whatever it is that you think will save him, but you’ll probably end up blowing a _crater_ in him like you did to the _city_.”

Cisco shares a look with the others: Dr Wells looks sad, and Caitlin – well, for some reason, she doesn’t look surprised, though there is some regret there. “Iris-”

“Get out,” she says again, and even though it’s not as loud as when she yells it at the doctors, it’s somehow worse because Iris is their friend, but she’s looking at them like they killed Barry. And, really, they did, didn’t they?

“Iris, please-”

“Cisco, Caitlin, I know-” she swallows and starts again. “I know you’re hurting as well, and I’m sorry, but right now I want to kill you all, and I can’t hit a guy in a wheelchair, but I sure as hell can hit the two of you, so you need to leave.”

Caitlin and Dr Wells share a glance before wishing Iris goodbye and leaving as the doctors who have now stabilised Barry leave, but Cisco stays put. Iris just shrugs, like she doesn’t even have the energy to tell him to leave, but he swallows. “I love him too, Iris.”

“Oh, yeah?" she laughed bitterly. "Then why’d you guys kill him?”

“That’s not fair, Iris,” he says, but she ignores him and goes back inside Barry’s room, so he is left talking to himself. “He’s my brother – I love him, too.”

 

**Caitlin – February**

The thermostat is broken, and Caitlin Snow can’t be bothered to fix it. It’s cold, in her apartment that’s now achingly quiet, but she’s finding she likes it like that. It feels odd to have warmth were Ronnie once was, so she sits in her apartment, drinking her coffee, watching the news, catching up on reading, and she is cold.

In fact, she is cold all the time.

She is cold when she goes to work, when she takes the last of Ronnie’s clothes to goodwill, and most especially when she goes to the town hall with the police report from the Particle Accelerator explosion and has Ronnie declared legally dead. Usually there is a period of time – about five months – where the court has to wait for a person to be missing for a certain length of time, but everyone is fairly certain that’s there’s no way that anyone could have made it out of that core alive. So she files the report and then reminds herself to call Ronnie’s parents and her own when she gets back, and then she goes to work.

Caitlin has always been cold, she knew, but it was different before. She supposed that it was because she didn’t know any different, but she was always happy exactly the way she was. She didn’t have many close friends; even through high school and college and that period on the lacrosse team, she mostly kept herself to herself. She never saw herself as cold, only self-sufficient, but that was before she met Ronnie.

He spilled coffee on her in Jitters and almost gave her a second-degree burn – pretty fitting for someone who called them ‘fire and ice’, like that wasn’t the cheesiest thing that’s ever been said – on their first day of work, even before they knew they’d be working together. He bought her coffee the rest of the week to make up for it, and it was only when Cisco rather impatiently pointed out that the rose that came with the coffee cup that was on her desk each morning was Ronnie’s incredibly unsubtle way of asking her out that she realised how much she liked it.

That had been a year ago, and Caitlin discovered that she liked his warmth.

It was odd, the pair of them. Ronnie was like white-hot lightning, Caitlin like a cool blue alchemist’s flame, but it was like they sustained each other. He could survive her cold, and she could take just a enough of his heat to keep herself going. She was still cold, but not _cold_ cold. Ronnie made her better.

Now, though…Now she is just cold. An empty cold. An uncaring one. So when she gets to work and Cisco wants to talk, mostly because she’s one of the only two people he can talk to until the custodian gets here, her replies are monosyllabic and unhelpful.

“…it was a small funeral, that’s what Wally said,” Cisco continues, pulling on some fibres for the suit. Caitlin would think it’s a good idea, but she’s too cold and cynical to think that the fire department will accept it. But Cisco is warm, not warm like Ronnie, but still warm, so she answers his questions about polymers and which materials would best protect the skin.

“Bette has been serving for ten years, so it was pretty big. Even General Eiling was there.”

Caitlin frowns but doesn’t look up from her formulas. “I thought Bette didn’t like him.”

“She doesn’t,” Cisco shrugs. “But you know, army rules. I guess he was her commander, or whatever, and he had to be there. _Needs of the many_.” He pauses. “Wait, delete that. That wasn’t a relevant reference.”

“Where?”

“Central City National,” he replies quietly. “You know, the one for all the-”

“Veterans,” she finishes. “Open casket?”

“No, they couldn’t. Bette’s body was, um, burned up from the lightning, so…”

“Of course.” She pauses. “Barry will have an open casket.”

Cisco stares at her, dropping his instruments. “W-What?”

“Barry doesn’t have any facial burns or scarring, and there’s nothing to disfigure him. He’ll have an open casket. Unless Henry or Iris don’t want that, I’m not sure.”

“Jesus, Caitlin! Barry’s our friend! You’re writing him off already?”

“I’m not ‘writing him off’,” she responds coldly. “I’m just telling you the most probable outcome. The doctors at Central City Memorial don’t know what’s wrong with Barry, and if they keep going with this round of treatment they will kill him. And I feel that Henry and Iris would probably prefer an open casket.”

Cisco just stares at her before going back to his work, and Caitlin goes back to hers. She is aware, somewhere, that that was too much, but is not sure how she is supposed to care. There is nowhere warm anymore.

“She hates us,” he says, almost to himself. He must be feeling the pain of her rejection even a month later. “Iris. She hates us.”

“She hates everyone,” Caitlin informs him. “It isn’t personal. The man she’s in love with is in a coma that we caused, and no one can do anything about it. She is helpless, and alone, and scared. She is…She is cold, and she has no more room for warmth.”

And Cisco, being Cisco, realises that she isn’t talking only about Iris. “Caitlin-”

“I’m fine, Cisco. His parents are having the funeral tomorrow, if you want to come. No casket. Obviously.”

***

It is a nice funeral, but it’s too warm, and nowhere should be that warm without Ronnie, so his mother doesn’t say anything when she and Cisco slip away.

“Do you want me to take you home?” he asks. Caitlin smiles gratefully at him. He never left her side the whole time, fielding questions from people without tact, getting her food when she asks for it, and steering her away from the worst relatives.

“No, thank you.”

“You wanna go to Big Belly Burger?”

“I’m not hungry.”

“You just wanna drive?”

“Actually, I kind of want to go to work,” she replies, and Cisco looks at her. “Nice to see you haven’t changed.”

“I want to feel useful.”

So she takes off her heels and walks around in socks, and that is when Dr Wells wheels himself in. “Dr Snow.”

“Dr Wells.”

“How was the funeral?”

“Fine, thank you.”

He stares at her and glances at Cisco, who she is sure is making a confused expression while he works on his suit as a pretence for looking after her. “Dr Snow – Caitlin,” he sighs, taking off his glasses. “You are aware that I wouldn’t expect you to come in on a day like today-”

“A day like today is a day where I feel inspired. A day like today is one where I think I can make a difference in someone’s life. And a day like today is one where I don’t want to sit around in my apartment thinking what I could have done differently over the past year so I didn’t have to go to a funeral for my fiancé today,” she says in a cool voice, not looking away from her work films. “So. I will be here, at work, in this lab, on a day like today. Thank you.”

Dr Wells stares at her, before nodding once. “Well, if there is anything I can do to help, then please let me know.”

“I will.”

But Caitlin watches him as he wheels himself to the central station, probably to start signing everything that will officially allow STAR Labs to come out from all the legal trauma because they’ve paid off all the lawsuits. She wonders, sometimes, about who should be cold and who shouldn’t. General Eiling, who did the experiments that Bette and Dr Wells hates so much, should be cold. Wally, with his heart and wit, should always be warm. Bette, who served in Afghanistan, does best to turn her cold on and off, and it suited her. She and Dr Wells, they do well to be cold, with the work they do, and they are fine with it. Ronnie was always hot, and it was good for him and the way he approached everything. But Cisco shouldn’t be cold, with the way that he designs things for people who may never give him the time of day. And Iris…Iris shouldn’t be cold.

There are some people who should simply not be cold.

So that is why she finds herself in Central City Memorial a few days later. Nobody knows that she is here – Cisco thinks that she’s having lunch with her mother, and Dr Wells says it’s her day off. The nurses are reluctant to let her in, even when she tells them she’s a doctor and shows them her medical license, because Iris is in there with him, but she tells them that she’s her friend.

Iris is there, she can see, lying on the bed with Barry with her arms thrown around him and her eyes closed. She isn’t sleeping, though, Caitlin can tell, and when she walks in Iris’ eyes fly open. “Caitlin. What are you doing here?”

“I came to see you.”

Iris blinks, climbing down from the bed, and Caitlin sees how tired she is. She must be – Henry is in prison and there is no one else to look after him the way he needs. “Why?”

“Because I know what you’re going through,” she replies evenly. “I had to bury Ronnie last week, did you know that? Only I couldn’t bury him, because there’s no body to bury.”

Iris sighs. “I know, Caitlin, Wally told me. I thought you wouldn’t want me there, after what-”

“You don’t have to apologise,” she interrupts. “I understand, remember? You’re feeling scared and helpless, and these doctors want to turn him off and give up on him because they see this every day and will see more again. But this is your Barry. This is your love. No one will replace that warmth.”

Barry’s heart monitor is the only thing that sounds before Iris shakes her head and then drops it into her hands. “I keep…making deals. You know? To God or a higher power or whatever. Like, if I go back to work, maybe he’ll wake up. Or if I do fifty push-ups instead of forty, the doctors will tell me something good. Or if I turn off the heating and wear sweaters, he’ll come back to me. But nothing _works_.”

Iris’ voice breaks on that last word and Caitlin sits down. “Iris, the doctors here don’t know what they’re doing, and they will find a way to turn him off without your consent. I’m not trying to make you feel worse,” she adds when Iris gives her an alarmed look. “I’m just telling you what I know as a physician. So…So I want you to make a deal with me, now.”

“A deal?”

“If you give Barry to me and Cisco and Dr Wells – _listen_ to me, Iris, please – I promise I will do everything I can to make him better. I have access to some of the foremost medical technology in the world, and I’m a pretty good doctor even if I do say so myself.” She pauses. “But you have to do something for me. And, I guess, for yourself.”

“What?”

“Don’t be cold. This kind of thing can twist you and make you dark and turn grieving into your normal. It can make you…cold. Don’t be cold, Iris.”

Iris looks at her through lidded eyes. “And if I told you the same thing?”

“What do you mean?”

“I was a criminal psychology major, Caitlin, and now I’m an investigative journalist. I know how to read people. You’ve always kept yourself to yourself, but now it’s different. What if I told you not to be cold, the way you’ve been since Ronnie died?”

And Caitlin smiles at someone who isn’t Cisco for the first time in weeks. “Well, then I guess I’m making you a deal, too.”

Iris says that she has to ask Henry first, so Caitlin is surprised when she gets a call from the hospital two days later saying that Bartholomew Henry Allen has been released into their care against medical advice on request of Iris Ann West.

“I was considering it,” Iris admits as they wheel Barry into the Cortex.

“Really?” Caitlin asks, and she shrugs.

“Of course. I know what I said before, but…you guys love him too.”

So Iris apologises to Cisco, who makes a joke about even Kirk and Spock not seeing eye to eye sometimes, and Iris and Caitlin just laugh and shake their heads. Iris also makes a not so subtle threat to Dr Wells, who of course takes it in stride and promises her he’ll do his best with those steely blue eyes of his, and then wishes them goodbye. Caitlin rolls up her sleeves. “Well, you heard her. We’ve got work to do.”

***

Caitlin burns her hand on her radiator. She was trying to get warm, but it didn’t work.

It’s not as urgent as it was, the need to feel warm, even though it’s only a few weeks after Ronnie’s funeral. She can get through the day and forget she ever needs it, sometimes. There is some small relief, though. Like Felicity calling her to babble about what it’s like being Oliver Queen’s assistant, or coming up with a plan to help Barry, who’s already making progress. Or Iris coming over to ask her non-threatening questions and help her cancel the wedding stuff because she doesn’t have the strength. That is warm. Or Cisco making her sit through marathons of TV even when she throws her pillows at him. That’s warm, too.

But still. She is running her hand under the sink because she burned it trying to get warm. And with Ronnie gone, she is not so sure there is a place that can be like Ronnie always for her.

Nowhere warm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so that was that. i decided to change the tense and POVs to do the grief thing properly. let me know what you all think about that, as well as the chapter itself, and if there's anything you want to see or think i should explore more of. thanks for reading, liking and commenting!


	22. I Think I Miss You Even More

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we see grievin, workin, snoopin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is pretty long and i am EXHAUSTED so it may not be great, but you've all been so patient and lovely i wanted to put it out early. i hope you like it!

**Joe – March**

Joe West stands with his daughter outside of Iron Heights prison as the buzzer sounds and the gate slides open. The three cops behind him immediately stand up straight as they see the guards bring out a tall, broad-shouldered man in an orange prison uniform. Iris smiles slightly but doesn’t say anything, and when the four of them – three guards and the prisoner – are out, they walk up to him, hunching their shoulders against the chill wind.

“Morning, Henry,” Iris says quietly. “How are you doing?”

“Good,” he answers, nodding. He looks at Joe, and Iris clears her throat.

“Henry, this is Detective Joe West, my dad. Dad, this is Henry Allen, Barry’s dad.”

“Thanks for doing this, detective,” Henry says, nodding because he can’t shake Joe’s hand because of the handcuffs. “I really appreciate it.”

“Of course,” he says. “Barry’s very important to all of us, it’s the least I could do. So, how do we do this?”

One of the guards steps forward. “You are the police officer in charge of this excursion?”

“I am.”

“Who applied for furlough?”

“That was me,” Iris replies. “Iris West.”

The guard nods and brings out a clipboard. “Both of you please sign here. On behalf of Iron Heights Prison of Central City, I would like to remind you that you are now responsible for the care and conduct of this inmate. You are therefore ensuring that he will not cause any harm to other members of society; nor will any harm come to him. You will inform the guards of any place where he could come into conduct with knives, firearms, matches, aerosols, poisons, or other weapons that may cause him or other people harm. You will not allow, to the best of your ability, him to come into contact with drugs, alcohol, or vehicular transportation. He will be accompanied at all times by myself and two other guards, as well as yourselves.” She pauses, giving them time to take it all in. “Have you understood what I have said to you?” When they both nod, she hands it to them to sign. “Henry Allen, have you understood the regulations as I have read them to you?”

“I do.”

“Good. You are now released by way of compassionate release in order to visit a sick family member. You will be released for a period of forty-eight hours, subject to periodic checks every six hours. You will report here in two days for readmission to prison.”

Henry blinks. “Forty-eight? I thought we only requested twenty-four.”

The guard nods. “The warden felt it necessary to extend the time.” She pauses again and glances at her colleagues. “Your kid’s in a coma, Allen. Go spend some time with him.”

Joe drives there with Iris in the front and two guards in the back with Henry; more follow behind as they drive to STAR Labs. Iris is reading over the regulations again, though Joe is sure she doesn’t have to, since she probably has the whole thing memorised. In the few hours she has off work and between visiting Barry, she applied for furlough for Henry to see his son and spent weeks trying to understand what they would need to do to get approved. Sure enough, she puts it away and glances as Henry in the rearview mirror.

“So, you know we moved him to STAR Labs because his condition was getting worse,” Iris says quietly. “Dr Snow – Caitlin – has a long-term plan for his care and is pretty optimistic about it. He hasn’t seized or gone into cardiac arrest since last month, I don’t think, so now they’re trying lots of different stimuli to wake him up.”

Henry nods – Joe knows that he is a doctor and so even though his medical license was revoked years ago and he is likely out of practice, he’s probably retained some information about his son’s condition. He is quiet, though, and that Joe understands, because when your child is like this there is no safe haven from the panic and worry that have taken root in your mind.

Especially now that Barry is under the care of the man who put him in the coma in the first place.

When they arrive at STAR Labs Dr Wells isn’t there (Iris mentions to him in an aside that it might not be best for Henry to see him just yet, so she told him to make himself scarce), but Cisco and Caitlin are. Henry lets out a gasp at the sight of Barry in the bed, and one of the guards grabs his arm in a gesture of support while Cisco and Caitlin explain where they can sit. They nod and greet him as the guards lead him in so he can sit down next to Barry, who is now completely recovered from his external injuries and still looks like he could be sleeping.

“Dr Allen?” Caitlin says quietly. She tips her head at him. “I’m Dr Caitlin Snow, I’m Barry’s primary physician.”

Henry nods, his jaw clenched. “How is he doing?”

“Much better than the hospital, given the circumstances. I can explain his state…”

“That would be nice.”

So Joe watches at Caitlin explains what’s going on with Barry, watches Henry’s face as she takes him through each of the injuries he sustained, what they did to combat it, and how he is doing with it now. And Joe is not a doctor, but he does understand the grief on Henry’s face as Caitlin talks about the lightning bolt that hit Barry, and how many times his heart stopped, and what might happen to his nervous system. Cisco and Iris are in the corner and Iris is crying while she hugs him (Iris told him that he had to apologise to Cisco for something she said while she was mad, so Joe thinks that’s what it is), but then Caitlin stops and gives Cisco a look. Both he and Iris walk over to Joe, where Caitlin looks between them.

“Henry wants to be alone with Barry for a little while,” she tells them quietly. “Detective, I know you and Iris have to stay here, but Cisco and I will be upstairs if you need anything.”

Iris nods her thanks but still doesn’t say anything, instead going to sit at the computer terminals after Cisco and Caitlin have left before getting out her laptop. Joe frowns at her and she shrugs. “Thought I might as well catch up on work while I’m here. I can order lunch for everyone, if…”

When everyone voices their approval Iris orders several large meals from Big Belly Burger (Henry says he doesn’t want to eat, but Iris has been the mother of their family since Francine died, so naturally she ignores this and gets food anyway). Joe nods at the guards, already stoic as they watch Henry hold Barry’s hands as best he can through the chains on his wrists and ankles, and sits down. He doesn’t want to eavesdrop, but there is something so gut-wrenching about Henry’s voice, so mixed with grief and longing and hope, that makes him want to listen.

“Well, slugger, you’ve gotten into a pretty big mess this time, huh?” he laughs quietly. The chains rattle as he shifts to get closer to Barry. “You never did do things by half. Most people would just slip and fall or hit their head, but you have to go ahead and get struck by lightning. Figures.

Joe wants to laugh at that, because it is, it is typical of Barry Allen. He’s never just late, he’s late because there were kids and a cat stuck up a tree. He doesn’t forget one report; he somehow manages to forget an entire series of reports. So this is typical Barry, even though it’s the most devastating thing that could have happened.

“You’ve got a great team, I hear. Dr Snow sounds like she really knows her stuff, and so does that Cisco kid. Both of them speak very highly of Dr Wells, so if there’s one thing they’ve done, it’s convince me they can get you to wake up. And Joe and your boss have both come to see me, and they’ve said that your job is safe and the whole station is pulling for you to wake up. And Iris…well, I’m sure you know what Iris has been doing since she visits you every day. She comes to see me, she takes care of your bills, she’s called Jay and Joan, you name it, she’s done it. So once you wake up, the first thing you better do is thank that lady, understand?” He laughs again, a real one this time. “But I have faith in you. Your mother and I didn’t raise you to be rude.” Henry pauses and Joe realises that he’s crying already – and the burn in his own throat means that he’s about to start as well.

“Look, son. I don’t know if you can hear me, but if you can, I want you to listen very carefully. You need to take your time and get better. Don’t rush back because you’re worried about us. You just take your time and we’ll all be here – me and Joe and Captain Singh and Eddie and Cisco and Caitlin and Iris. So-”

Henry breaks off when they both hear Iris get up and walk out of the room. He frowns at Joe, who gestures for him to continue.

“I’ll be back,” he says to the guards. When he walks into the corridor, he sees Iris quickly shoving her laptop into her bag and wiping her face with her hand. “Hey, baby girl, you okay.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she mumbles, shrugging. “It was just a lot, seeing him in there with Barry, and I have to get back to work anyway.”

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’m fine, dad. I’ll see you and Henry for dinner, okay?”

And she walks off without giving him a chance to reply, and Joe wonders what will become of them all if Barry doesn’t wake up.

***

Joe West is not a stranger to grief.

When he first started out as a beat cop, he had to go and tell families that their sons and daughters and mothers and fathers were not coming home after an accident, or given testimony in murder investigations while he watched the families of the deceased suffer through trials. He has had friends and colleagues die on him more times than he would care to remember. Then there is the fact that his own wife died twenty years ago and he still feels the grief every time Iris smiles like she used to or Wally declares that he wants peach cobbler because that was her favourite dessert. So he knows grief and he knows how to navigate it.

What he doesn’t know is how to help Iris navigate it.

It was different when it was Francine, because that was a shared grief – Joe had lost his wife and Iris and Wally their mother, so he knew how to help them. He became the mother _and_ father, making lunches and wiping noses and doing all of that stuff, and it helped him through his own grief. But he cannot do that for Iris, because Barry belongs to her. The grief she feels is different to what he feels or Caitlin and Cisco feel or even Henry feels. So when he sees that Iris is not eating and Linda tells him that she cries herself to sleep every night and pretends everything is fine the next morning, and that she is spending so much time at work that hardly anyone ever sees her, he wonders how he can help.

It is what he thinks when he goes to the precinct before taking Henry home for dinner. It is largely empty because most people have gone home, but he can see the captain talking with a few people, and Wally sitting at his desk playing with his phone. He glances back, where the guards are in the car with Henry, before walking into the atrium.

“Hey, dad,” Wally calls, pocketing his phone as Joe walks over. He glances towards the door. “How’s, uh-”

“He’s fine,” Joe says quickly, flicking his eyes over to where the captain is standing with some other officers and detectives. Wally knows about Barry, who told him about his father before he went into the coma, as do Eddie and Captain Singh, but no one else knows. Iris thinks that Barry would have wanted it that way, and Henry does as well, so they are keeping it a secret. “Everything alright here, captain?”

“Yeah,” Wally replies. “It looks like Hot Pursuit got another one.”

Joe blinks and the captain laughs. Patty blushes. “Yes, Detective Spivot did indeed catch a wanted criminal today,” the captain says.

“Which one?”

“Someone who worked for the Mayor, the one who was smuggling guns in Central City last year.”

Joe looks at his son. “Hot Pursuit? Really, Wally?”

“Hey, that’s not my fault,” he points out. “I was here during the car chase while Patty was on the police motorcycle, and everyone kept saying ‘Spivot is in hot pursuit’.” He shrugs. “It kind of named itself.”

“You better respect my colleagues while you’re here, Wallace” Joe warns him, and Wally grins. Anything to report, David?”

“Nothing as of yet. We’re interviewing some potential CSIs from the police academy to fill Barry’s place temporarily and we’re looking at promoting someone to detective to replace Chyre. Are the two of you still alright to cover Eddie’s cases while he’s on leave?”

Patty shares a glance with Joe and then nods. The Captain glances between everyone. “And how’s Allen? I know you went to visit him today.”

“The same,” Joe sighs. “His doctors are optimistic, but I don’t know what the prognosis is for something like this…”

“Aw, prognosis, shmognosis,” Wally shrugs. “It’s CSI the Dork, for crying out loud. He’s late, but he always comes through for you guys. Just give him a little time.”

“That’s the hope. And, uh, how’s Iris? Is she doing okay?”

Joe and Wally share another look. Iris is making them dinner tonight so she’s out getting groceries, but they don’t know what mood they’ll meet her in when they get home. Joe just hopes it isn’t the unsmiling, disengaged one that she’s become ever since Barry was moved to STAR Labs. “She’s…doing,” Joe replies. “Anyway, we’re meeting her for dinner, so we’d better get going.”

Dinner is almost done when they enter the house, and luckily Henry is allowed to shower and change and take off his handcuffs while Iris is making salad. Joe goes down to the cellar to get some wine for the three of them while Wally sticks with Henry, making friends with him immediately and entertaining him while he sets the table. He pauses in the doorway of the living room as he watches Wally enthusiastically regale a tale of when he and Iris were children and he threw up after drinking too many strawberry milkshakes. Wally has personally seen to it that Henry hasn’t stopped laughing since he arrived here, and Joe has never been more proud of his son. He walks back into the kitchen to see Iris putting salmon on little pieces of baguette.

“Hey, Iris, it’s white for this meal, right?” He frowns when she doesn’t answer him, still chopping and slicing. “Iris? Hey, honey, you – _careful_!”

Iris yelps in surprise and drops the knife she’s holding, but Joe picks it up before she can reach down for it. “Iris, are you sure you’re okay?”

She flashes him a quick smile but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes before dropping off her face, and takes the knife back from him to resume cutting. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little tired, I guess,” she shrugs. Joe stares at her.

“You know, you can skip dinner if you want to go to bed early.”

“No, I’m good. Besides, I don’t want to disappoint Henry.” The oven timer dings and she finishes cutting, dusting the crumbs off her hands. “Food’s done. Is that white? It’s perfect, it’ll go great with the food.”

Henry seems to think so and can’t thank Iris enough during the meal, but both Wally and Joe notice that her answers are more subdued and cautious, like she’s trying not to let herself show too much emotion. She’s also picking at her food – chicken alfredo made with pasta, and bruschetta, which Joe is sure she’s made before – instead of eating it, and not really contributing to the conversation.

“So my internship starts next month,” Wally tells them. “I’ve done my final for last semester, so I get to spend this one working in Queen Industries trying to get my generator to work. Isn’t that awesome?”

“It’s great,” Joe says enthusiastically, clapping him on the shoulder. “I’m proud of you, son. Isn’t that great, Iris?”

“Yeah,” she answers, pushing her chicken around her plate. “It’s really great.”

All three of the men look at each other before Henry clears his throat. “Queen Industries,” he repeats, impressed. He takes a sip of his water. “That’s impressive, Wally. What will you be working on?”

“Well, it’s this new generator that’s supposed to work with the aerodynamics of sports cars,” he says. “I get to work under Johnny Chambers, who specialises in that kind of thing.”

“That sounds ground-breaking. What about you, Iris?” Henry asks kindly. “Anything exciting going on at work? I read your articles sometimes; you must have some big scoop you can tease for us.”

“Not really,” Iris shrugs. “I mean, everyone liked the STAR Labs article, but then the explosion happened and…Oh!” she says suddenly. “Linda! My best friend Linda is up for a Pulitzer.”

“Oh yeah,” Joe realises, smiling. “I forgot about that.”

“How could you forget?” Wally frowns. “We talk about it all the time.”

“She did that expose interview on Tommy Holland,” Iris continues. “So she might be getting one for the newspaper version of what she broadcast. She’s flying out for the ceremony next month.”

“That’s incredible!” Henry says. “All of us watched that interview – it was so terrible what Tommy did to her and those poor interns from the paper. Did they ever find out what happened?”

“The drugs they doped with were contaminated,” Joe says. “They never found the source, though. I think they said they traced it back to Star City, so the investigation moved there.”

“I just remember Barry telling me that Linda was in the hospital,” Henry sighs. “He was so cut up about it.”

“Well, that’s Barry,” Wally says. “Always worried about everyone else.”

“Right,” Iris says, and they all look helplessly at each other. “What about you, Joe? I hear the Sun Dial Church case may finally get prosecuted.”

“Not a damn day too soon,” Joe sighs. “Do you have any idea of the run-around that case put us through? I think it took ten years off my life. I’ll never look at a stuffed panda the same way again.”

Everyone laughs but Iris is staring at her plate, and Wally notices. “Ladybird?” he asks softly. “Are you okay? Is something wrong with your baguette?”

Iris flinches at that for some reason, and then looks at them. “Sorry. You know, I think I will go to bed, I’ve kind of had a long day.”

She stands up and starts clearing her plate, but Wally takes it away from her. “I’ll do that.”

“Thanks.” She gives her father a kiss on the cheek, her brother a tweak of the ears, and hugs Henry and promises to see him tomorrow before heading upstairs. Dinner is alright after that, and then Henry has to go with the guards with his hotel and Wally has to go to bed. Joe goes up to check on Iris and stops when he hears her sobbing quietly in her old room. His heart twists and he steps forward to go inside and talk to her, but the floorboard creaks and Iris stops immediately. When he peeks around the corner of her door, she is clearly pretending to be asleep. So Joe leaves her alone, because he is starting to think that he cannot help her in this grief. Barry is not dead but he is not quite alive – there is no certainty.

They are all of them – Henry and Iris and everyone who loves him – trapped in prison.

***

They are early to the drop-off, when Henry has to be handed over back to police custody. Iris can’t go inside with them, so she hugs him and he grasps her arms. “Iris, I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for Barry. You look after yourself, alright?”

“I will,” she promises, and the guards step forward to put the handcuffs back on him. Iris wipes her eyes and smiles. “I’m gonna wait in the car, okay?”

Joe and Henry are left alone while the guards process Henry’s paperwork, and that it when Joe chooses his moment. “I don’t know you,” he says quietly. “I’m not going to ask about your case or whether you did what you’re convicted of, because I don’t care. But – But I know that you’re a father, and so I want you to know this. Barry, when he wakes up, is going to be fine. I can’t imagine what it must be like to have to watch your son live his life while you’re in here, but you have to know that Barry is good, you know? He has a job, he has people, he has a life to get back to.” Joe shrugs. “So, one father to another, your son is good. We’re all looking out for him.”

Henry doesn’t say anything, just pinches the bridge of his nose and wipes the tears that have appears. He sniffs and holds out a hand. “Thanks, Joe.” Joe grips it.

“You’re welcome, Henry.”

 

**April – Wally**

It’s bittersweet, handing back his badge, work ID and keys to the Jitters manager, but Wally knows it’s for the best. With the internship paying for this semester’s school fees and the fact that he won’t have time to work there anyway, it makes sense for him to quit now. The manager has promised that he can have his job back if he needs it, but Wally isn’t hoping for that – he wants to keep working for Queen Industries, which means impressing Johnny Chambers when he starts work there in a couple of days.

It’s spring now, so it is not as cold as the biting cold that has been chasing everyone for the past few months. He’s got a free coffee (his last, unfortunately) as a parting gift, and he sips it as he wonders what he’s going to do with the rest of his day and his weekend. He’s supposed to go and visit Barry at some point, since he tries to go a few times a month so Barry at least has lots of visitors, so he figures he’ll do that on Sunday, but apart from that he’s pretty much clear. He’s read through the welcome pack for work, he’s picked out and outfit, he has all his research and plans in order, so he’s probably just going to spend the weekend-

“Wally, hey! I thought you’d be at work.”

And Wally swallows and blinks and stutters the way he always does when he runs into Linda Park and isn’t expecting it. She smiles warmly up at him, because she’s Linda and he’s Wally and they’ve always been family. He clears his throat.

“Oh, yeah, I was,” he replies. “But today was my last day, and…”

“Right, Iris told me about that. You’re starting on Monday.” She grins at him and nudges him as they walk. “Ready to enter the world of work, big guy?”

“Not really,” he laughs. “First of all, I don’t think the coffee will be very good. But at least I don’t have to wear a suit.”

“Oh, what? Come on, you’d look great in a suit. With those cute ears of yours.”

Wally blinks at her and blushes before remembering to laugh, because of course she’s kidding and doesn’t mean anything more serious than that. She always calls Wally cute. In fact, because it’s Linda, he should be grateful he doesn’t get anything worse than ‘cute asshole’. He’s gotten used to it, his love for his sister’s best friend, so much so that he’s got specially trained reactions for when he’s around her and doesn’t want to give it away. Like when she’s on a date and he has to pretend not to be petty…or when she breaks up with them and he has to pretend not to be petty (like that time she broke up with Jimmy Olsen). Or always having a topic of conversation read when he knows he’s going to be around her. And he never, under any circumstances, gets too drunk around her. There is nothing on this earth that could surpass the horror that he’d feel if he revealed everything while he was hammered.

“Right. Thanks. So, um, what are you doing out? I thought you had a lot to do before you flew out to Columbia next week.”

Linda nods. “I was. I mean, I am. Just, I’d be leaving Iris by herself, and I want to make sure there’s enough food in the house. She’s starting to skip meals, and I figure if I call her and tell her to go eat something she can’t use the excuse that she’s lazy and doesn’t want to leave the house for food.”

Wally sighs. Since Henry went back to prison, Iris hasn’t exactly been getting worse, but she hasn’t been getting better either. She spends most of her time at her and Linda’s apartment, but even when she’s at their house she doesn’t seem to do anything. She still works at the paper on her stories, but she just doesn’t seem motivated to _do_ anything. It isn’t like the beginning, when she was in denial, or when she was relentlessly, brutally angry at absolutely everyone because of what had happened. Now she just kind of goes through the motions. It’s like she’s completely given up on anything good happening.

“The only thing she keeps saying,” Linda continues, “is that if I skip the ceremony she’ll scalp me. And she was giving me that look, you know-”

“Oh, I know,” Wally says. “Trust me, all this time being her little brother, I know the look. You were going to skip the ceremony?”

“Well, I was going to invite her and my mom and dad, but I don’t think she wants to leave Barry. But I didn’t want to leave her by herself and I told her I probably wouldn’t win anyway-”

“What?” Wally frowns. “That’s crazy. Of course you’re going to win.”

“You don’t have to say that, Wally.”

“I’m not saying it because I have to, I’m saying it because I’m right. You’re amazing.”

Wally is surprised when he sees a tinge of colour on Linda’s cheeks, but then it disappears. He must have imagined it. “Anyway, go to the ceremony. Dad and I can look after her. And I think Felicity said she wants to visit, so that could be cool. I mean, I think it could be good for her. Is she still saying no to taking time off?”

“Yeah,” Linda sighs, rubbing her eyes. “I think she’s scared she’ll have nothing to distract her from Barry if she does.”

Wally shrugs. “Guess we’ll just have to keep looking after her. Hey, um, do you need help shopping? Because I’m not really doing anything right now…”

“Aw, aren’t you sweet. But it’s cool, I’m just getting everything delivered to our apartment and then I have to go back to work. Mason wants me to plug the hell out of CCPN if I win.”

“You will,” he says confidently. They stop at the turning to the market, where Linda will get her groceries and Wally will go home. “So, uh, I guess I’ll see you later?”

“Sure.” Linda smiles at him and lifts her arms, and then it’s Wally’s turn to blush when Linda pulls him into a hug. “Good luck for Monday!”

***

Thankfully, it’s just Cisco and Caitlin when Wally goes in to visit Barry on Sunday. It will be a brief visit, Wally thinks, because he doesn’t really know what to say to Barry. He knows he was unfairly harsh to the guy, what with threatening him about half a dozen times over Iris, but then he was threatening his sister. That said, when Iris and then Barry explained why he was acting the way he was acting, and Wally met Henry, who is so kind and funny that Wally couldn’t see him hurting a fly, Wally understood a little more of what was going on.

“Wally,” Cisco grins when Caitlin has left to go and look at Barry’s films. “Haven’t seen you in a while, how’ve you been? Excited for tomorrow?”

“How did you hear about that?” Wally asks in surprise, and Cisco shrugs.

“Iris was telling Barry about it the other day, and then I asked her. You’re really working under Johnny Chambers?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool. So, Cisco, about Iris. How is she when she comes in here? Iris, I mean. Is she, like, happier when she talks to him?”

Cisco scratches his head. “Sometimes, I think. So, the other day, she was telling him about how Linda was up for the Pulitzer, and she got really excited. But then she said she was going to get someone to record the ceremony for her.”

“Record it? It’s all the way in Metropolis!”

“Your sister has mad connections, you know. She got Oliver to hook me with some sweet equipment from Queen Tech, not even on the market yet, so I guess it wouldn’t be hard to get someone to record the ceremony for her in Columbia.” Cisco glances at Barry’s sleeping figure sadly. “She said she didn’t want to leave him.”

Wally sighs. So Linda is right – Iris is too scared to leave Barry. “Not that we’d let anything happen to him,” Cisco adds. “She can go, if she wants. But then, I think she knows that. It’s just a girlfriend thing, you know. I think she’s just too worried to leave.” He pauses when someone starts talking into his headset. “Okay, I’m on my way, Dr Wells.” He pulls off his headset and starts putting some stuff in a tray. “They’ve got an idea to see whether we can track some of Barry’s bodily functions so we can test whether we’re missing something that will show when he’s going to wake up. You gonna be okay here?”

“Yeah,” Wally replies. “I’m not staying long. But I’ll call if I need anything.”

Wally bites his lip and looks around. The only sound is the heart monitor beeping, and Wally himself as he fidgets. He doesn’t visit Barry as often as he probably should, he knows, but he knows that he would appreciate it. Besides, he wants to show Iris that she doesn’t have to be chained to his side all the time.

“You know, if you’re that behind on your reports, you could have just told Captain Singh,” Wally says, by way of a joke. “You didn’t have to put yourself in a coma. And you know you’re in trouble, right? You and me and Cisco were going to use all this equipment to build a super-fast robot after Dr Wells was done with it, and here you are taking a nap. Asshole.” Barry’s chest rises and falls, and Wally’s reminded of what Iris told him. He suspects it’s not the whole story, but he knows that some bullies put Barry in the hospital for a couple of months, which is why the doctors were so worried when he got that concussion back in September.

“Anyway, you better wake up soon, or Cisco’s going to be the one I tell all my cool shit about working on my generator with Johnny Chambers to. And when he and I are putting in sports cars, won’t you be sad? Okay, I’m kidding. Mostly. You just – you really have to wake up. I promise if you wake up soon, I won’t even call you ‘CSI the Dork’. Much. I’ll make a real effort, I promise. Plus, they’re getting a new CSI at the precinct. She’s temporary, I think, but still, you want someone going through all your stuff and messing up your system, do you?”

Wally rubs the back of his neck and looks around, before scooting closer to Barry. “And Iris really misses you, you know. I know I said I wanted you to win because I thought Kyle was boring, but man. I never saw her get this way over him, and she was with his ass for three years. And I know you’re doing your best to come back, Barry, because that’s who you are, so I’m not telling you to hurry up or whatever. I just really wish Iris knew that she can live her life and be happy while she’s waiting. She misses you a lot, and so do I, and so do Linda and Eddie. Eddie said to say hi, by the way. I think he still wishes you were at the funeral for Bette. And we’re looking after your dad, by the way. He’s really cool, I like him.” He pauses. “And between you and me? I don’t think he did it either. But I’m not a cop and I’m not a journalist, so I can’t really fix that for you. Maybe I’ll get Iris on that,” he laughs weakly.

Wally looks at his watch and stands. He’s not so sure he can sit here with Barry like this; it’s a wonder Iris does it as often as he does. Bette’s funeral was hard, since he’d known her for so long, but that was closed-casket so he at least didn’t have to look at her dead body and imagine what she was like living. Barry is here but he isn’t, and with his eyes closed and not walking or talking it’s too much. It’s too much like he’s closer to a closed-casket than life.

***

Wally, unlike Barry, isn’t late for his first day of work on Monday.

He _is_ , however, almost assaulted by a toaster that narrowly avoids his head.

It’s a normal day, albeit one that has him buzzing with anticipation and nerves. His father wishes him luck before he leaves the house, and gives him his grandfather’s watch for luck. He gets a text from Cisco and a call from Iris, both within minutes of each other and demanding to know all about his first day.

“Do you have lunch?” Iris asks, and Wally knows that she’s biting her lip worriedly. “I knew I should have stayed over last night, but I had to come in early to check the interns’ notes, and-”

“Iris, I’m fine. I have lunch.”

“What about water? You should drink lots of water; you know it gets hot in all those engineering rooms.”

“Iris, I _know_ ,” he laughs. He adjusts his messenger bag as he steps through the big revolving doors of Queen Technologies. “I’ll call you at lunch, okay?”

“Do you promise?”

“Of course. Now, um, about that other thing…”

“Don’t worry, Wally, I took care of it. Have I ever let you down?”

“Of course not. I just really want her to get them.”

Iris sighs dreamily. “Who knew my brother was such a romantic?”

“You better not tell anyone.”

“Or what? What are you gonna do, dumbo?”

“I’m gonna tell dad who broke his Marvin Gaye record.”

“You have no proof.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Ugh, fine, whatever. Have a good day, dumbo.”

And he truly thinks it will be. He’s given a badge and a short tour of the facility, and when they’re done and he says he’s working for ‘Mr Chambers’, he’s pointed downstairs and told to make a left, because his workroom takes up half of a floor. When he hears banging and clangs, he assumes that it’s just the boiler room. But then he walks into a wide open space that has what looks like a mixture of electronics, books, and other random objects on pieces on the floor.

And that’s when the toaster almost hits him.

“What the _hell_?” Wally snaps, jumping out of the way, and then he hears a voice from above.

“Sorry! They should have told you to be careful as you come in.”

When Wally looks up, he sees a man maybe a couple of years younger than his father with salt and pepper hair and bright blue eyes. He’s also holding a BB gun and a carton of eggs. He walks down the stairs of the walkway until he’s in front of Wally. “You must be Wallace West. I’m Jonathan Chambers, but you can call me Johnny.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Johnny. Everyone calls me Wally, though.”

“Wally, then,” he smiles warmly. “I look forward to working with you.”

“Me too. Uh, what’s with the toaster?”

“I ran out of waffle irons, and the pots and pans are too light.” He looks down at the items in his hands. “Egg or gun?”

Wally blinks at him. “Uh…I thought we were working on my generator. You said you had some ideas on how to make it faster.”

“I do. Egg or, gun?”

“…egg?”

Johnny grins at him. “Oh, yeah. They were right about you.”

***

“He’s insane,” Wally says while he’s on the train on the way to his third day of work. He’s given up wearing anything formal, since it will inevitable get stained with eggs or paint or whatever it is that Johnny wants them to throw out of windows or off ledges on that particular day. “Seriously, completely insane.”

“Oh, what?” Iris says in disbelief. “You said you guys went go-karting yesterday, that sounds like fun.”

“We did, and it was. Until he made us lie on the floor of a racetrack and describe what it was like to be part of the speed equation.”

“…what does that mean?”

“ _I have no idea_! Iris, I’m scared for my health.”

“Okay, come on. You and Barry and Cisco love that guy, and if Queen Industries is giving him a whole floor and all this money for all his experiments if he kills his interns. Um, there are other interns, aren’t there?”

“…no.”

“Okay, call me every hour.”

Wally has to stick his head around the corner whenever he enters the room, but Johnny isn’t throwing anything today. Instead, there is a complicated set of equations on a whiteboard that he is making corrections to, while Bon Jovi was playing in the background. “Uh, Johnny?”

“Wally!” He turns and grins at him. “Good morning. Care to join me?”

“Sure,” he replies. “What are we working on?”

“The speed equation.”

“Uh, this doesn’t look like speed is equal to distance over time.”

“Not the equation for speed, the _speed equation_. You have to learn to think outside of the box, think like a creator. Your generator is never going to improve unless you think about all the things that go into making it. All the things that make you get up in the morning and shout about it. Go ahead, list what’s in your generator.”

Wally thinks for a moment – this, at least, he can answer. “Titanium screws, steel rotors, plastic-”

“No, Wally!” Johnny interrupts. “That’s what the generator is made of, not what goes into making it. Think about it. First, there’s what inspired you to make it.”

“Uh, fast cars?”

Johnny writes that on the board. “What else?”

“Well, I’d like them to become more streamlined.”

“Keep going.”

Wally grins, warming up. “Well, when I was a kid, I wanted this one generator for a car I was building, but I couldn’t afford it, so-”

“There you go!” he exclaims in excitement. “Affordable for genius teenagers! Now we’re talking!”

And suddenly three hours have passed and he and Johnny have completely rewritten his generator into something better than he ever could. “Now, we have to be careful,” Johnny says, wiping sweat from his brow. “This is only the first iteration, and it’s probably going to go wrong, but it’s a start.”

“Johnny, this is amazing! How did you come up with this?” He shrugs.

“They don’t call me Johnny Quick for nothing, kid.” He’s about to say something else, but then Wally’s phone buzzes in his pocket. Johnny motions for him to get it.

“Take your time, it’s almost lunch anyway.”

“Thanks,” he replies, putting the phone to his ear. “Hello?”

“Is this Wallace West?”

His blood freezes. “Y-Yeah, that’s me. What is it? Is everything okay?”

“Um, this is Tess, from CCPN. I work with Iris, your sister-”

“Is she okay? What happened?”

“Well, she had a panic attack and Mason thinks she should take the rest of the day off, but she can’t go home by herself when she’s like this – she’s still a little freaked out, and-”

“I’m coming,” he says immediately. “I’m coming, I’ll get her.” He hangs up. “Johnny, I’m really sorry, this is really unprofessional, but my sister-”

“Go,” Johnny says quietly, and Wally is surprised by how sincere it sounds. “I have a daughter, and she’s pretty much the only one I have left. When your family is in trouble, you have to help. Just be back tomorrow, okay?”

Wally can tell something has happened as soon as he gets to CCPN, because someone is packing up Iris’ desk. He glares at them and they glance around nervously, until someone taps him on the shoulder. “Wally, right?”

“Yeah. Why’s that guy packing up my sister’s desk? Because you can’t fire her, her boyfriend’s in the hospital-”

“Nobody’s firing me, Wally,” Iris says quietly. She’s walked out of her boss’ office, and stood behind him; he never even heard her come out. Mason, who he knows Barry and Iris both call ‘grumpy cat’, is with her. “I’m gonna take some time off work, and Chris is just helping me pack up some essentials. Nobody’s getting my desk, though, right?” she says, raising an eyebrow, and Mason nods.

“Of course not, West. You will always be welcome to sip coffee and eat brownies and gossip with Park whenever you want.”

“Thanks, Mase. Uh, could I have my-”

“I’ve got it,” Wally says, taking the bag from Chris. “Sorry I yelled at you.”

“It’s no problem,” he says. He looks at Iris uncertainly and then tentatively hugs her. “Come back soon, Iris.”

Iris pats his shoulder. “I’ll try.”

***

“You want more enchiladas?”

“No, I’m pretty full.”

“Okay, how about some more brownies?”

“I think if I have any more I’ll fall into a sugar coma.”

“Ice cream, then-”

“Wally!” Iris interrupts, laughing, and then it turns into a yawn. “Seriously, I’m fine. Linda should be home in a couple of hours, so I think I’m just gonna crash. You can go home, if you want.”

Wally glances around the room. He took Iris back home to her apartment after they left CCPN, and he hasn’t let her out of his sight since apart from to go to the bathroom and change into sweats. They’ve watched three seasons or _Archer_ (Wally knows that Iris’ favourite trash show is _Pretty Little Liars_ but for some reason she won’t watch it now) and he’s reluctant to leave her alone until Linda gets back. “Just one more season of _Archer_ -”

“I’m gonna fall asleep.”

“You can fall asleep!”

“And why are you so obsessed with that show all of a sudden? It’s not like you need lessons in how to be an asshole,” she jokes. He shrugs.

“Call it me brushing up on my skills.”

Iris snuggles up next to him as the episode starts. “Sometimes it just…hits me, you know? That he’s just lying there, and he could never wake up. And it feels kind of pointless to do anything or make any plans because he’s in all of them, and I don’t want to do any of them without him.”

Wally frowns and swallows – he’s never been very good at comfortable. Making inappropriate, snarky jokes, sure. But actual comfort? With words and stuff? He usually leaves all that to Eddie and Iris. But he tries anyway. “Listen, Iris, I don’t know Barry as well as you. The one thing I’m sure of, though, is that he’d want you to be happy.”

Iris sighs, partly in frustration, partly in sadness. “You don’t think I know that? Barry’s probably somewhere, wherever he is, yelling at me because I can’t get my head out of my ass. I just…I can’t find the motivation to do anything anymore.”

Wally pauses. “Well, I got some pretty great advice today, and I think you should try to remember what you love about what you do. Why you started doing it. Everything else should fall into place.”

Iris looks up at him. “Huh, well said, dumbo.”

“Not such an asshole now, am I?”

About two and a half episodes of _Archer_ later, Iris does indeed fall asleep, and Wally takes the opportunity to call his dad and tell him that yes, Iris is at home, she’s fine, Wally will stay here with her until Linda gets back, and she’s finally agreed to take some time off work. Then he picks her up and puts her in her bed, but not after she’s poked him in the shoulder so he can find her hair wrap for her. “Thanks, Wally,” she yawns as she falls back asleep. “You’re the best.”

Then he goes back into the living room and puts away the brownies and the soda and the juice, and he’s looking for where to put the rest of the enchiladas when he hears the door open. “Iris? Iris, are you in here? Mason called me when I landed…Oh. Hey, Wally.”

“Hey,” he says quietly. Linda looks fresher and prettier than he would have if he’d been on a plane for almost six hours. “Sorry, I just didn’t want to leave her alone-”

“Forget it, Wally,” she says, shutting the door. “Is she asleep?”

“Yeah, she’s exhausted. Tess said that she was looking up what happens when coma victims fall into a permanent vegetative state, and I guess she got worried about Barry, and then she had a panic attack. So Mason said she should take some time off, and she said yes.”

“Well, that’s great,” she sighs in relief. “She’s been working herself way too hard. Hey, what smells so good?”

“Oh, I made enchiladas,” he answers. “I left them in the kitchen, if you want some.”

“What, you’re going to let me eat by myself?” Linda demands, taking off her jacket. She grabs his arm and leads him back to the living room, unaware of the fact that his face is now on fire. “Come on, I want to hear about your first day.”

“Wait, Linda, what about the ceremony?” Wally wants to know, and she turns around, brushing her hair behind her ear.

“Um. I won.”

Wally grins. “That’s amazing! See? I told you you’d win! Have you told anyone else?”

“Just Mason and my parents. I wanted Iris to be the first West to know, actually, so you better not tell her I told you first.” She walks into the kitchen and gets a plate and a glass of wine. “So, how’s Mr Johnny Chambers?”

“He’s incredible,” Wally says, sitting down. He’s content to watch Linda move around the kitchen, like he’s always been, to be honest, as she prepares her food and puts garlic bread in the oven. “I thought he was a total whackjob at first, he kept telling me to ‘ _be_ the car, Wally’. _Be_ _the car_. But then I figured out what he was talking about and we came up with this awesome new design for my generator in, like, three hours.”

Linda raises her eyebrows. “So, not a total whackjob?”

“Oh, no,” he says quickly. “Total whackjob. I mean, the guy likes to throw kettles of ledges and then write about the kettles desire to hit the ground. But he’s an insanely talented whackjob.”

And Linda giggles and Wally’s stomach does this little swoopy thing because for all of Linda’s snark and sarcasm she undoes it all with that goddamn giggle. So they keep talking for hours even though Wally has work the next day and Linda says she does too, until they finally figure out that if they want to keep their jobs.

“So, I’ll call tomorrow, see how she’s doing,” Wally says as he turns in the doorway. “And I have to get you a present for winning a Pulitzer.”

“I think the Pulitzer’s already enough of a present.”

“Duh, that’s from Columbia. This will be a Wally West special.”

Linda cocks her head to one side. “Oh, yeah? And what would a Wally West special be like?”

And maybe it’s because Linda is looking at him a little flirty or because she just looks so pretty today or they’re both grinning about her win. But Wally later realises that what happens next is because he’s pretty sure that Barry is the love of Iris’ life and she’s in there devastated because he might never wake up, and Wally doesn’t want to lose his. So he does the thing that he isn’t supposed to, the thing that he’s pretty sure Iris will end up murdering him for, and the thing he’s wanted to do since he was eight and she said his ears were cute.

He grabs Linda Park and kisses her.

 

**May – Felicity**

The one good thing about working for Oliver Queen, Felicity realised a long time ago, is that his name can pretty much get you anything you want as quickly as you want it. She’s lost count of the hotel reservations, free drinks, and other random crap she’s gotten just because she’s his assistant. The problem with that, though, is that Oliver Queen is the Arrow, so being his assistant often means being shot at.

Repeatedly.

Felicity has the week off, though (which in her case means that Oliver is dealing with the fact that one of the sociopaths he was with on the island wants to destroy the city, so they’re doing recon work), so she is on a train to Central City to see some friends. Specifically, Iris.

Both Linda and Wally have been keeping her updated about Iris, but it’s Iris herself who told her that she was taking time off work. That was fine – for two weeks. But Iris is an investigative journalist and, more importantly, she’s True North, so she was soon texting Felicity saying that she was bored out of her mind. And it just so happened that her friend had just the thing to bring her out of her funk. For now, Iris thinks that she’s just going to visit Star City and keep Felicity company while Oliver and Diggle are out of town, but she has much bigger plans.

Iris is at CCPD when Felicity arrives, and Joe helpfully tells her that Iris is upstairs in Barry’s lab collecting something. When she gets up there, she’s staring at a board filled with red string and newspaper clippings. “Hey, babydoll. Babydoll. Yo, Iris.”

“Felicity!” Iris exclaims in surprise, hugging her. “I’m sorry, I was looking at this, and I guess I got…lost in thought.”

Felicity studies it and blinks. “Barry’s mom’s case?”

“Yeah. Lately I haven’t…” Iris sighs, “…looked at it as much as I should have been. I was just gonna grab some of it and look at it while I was over there. But don’t worry, I am totally committed to keeping you company.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Felicity says, waving a hand. “You just do what you need to do, babydoll. You ready?”

“Pretty much. Oh,” she says suddenly. “Caitlin and Cisco are coming too, although I think they’re driving, so they’ll be here tomorrow.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, some of the old STAR Labs stuff is in the Applied Sciences part of Queen Consolidated, and they got the stuff from the STAR Labs Michigan already so they need to get the rest.” Felicity scratches her head.

“That’s where that guy Victor Stone had the accident, right?” she asks. “His parents were doing some experiment and they died, and he disappeared.”

“Right,” Iris shrugs. “Guess STAR Labs isn’t going well for anyone. And it-”

“Okay, so I found the centrifuge, but I still need to have it checked for – Oh! Sorry, Iris! I didn’t know you were in here.”

“Relax, Jesse,” Iris smiles at the pretty young woman who’s carrying a box into the room. She sets it on the counter and looks nervously between Iris and Felicity.

“Besides, I never told you was coming today. Felicity, this is Jesse Chambers, she’s the CSI…replacing Barry until he comes back to work. Jesse, this is Felicity Smoak, one of my friends.”

Jesse sets the box down and shakes her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too.”

“And don’t worry, Jesse, Felicity and I are just packing up some files and then we’ll be out of your hair.”

“You’re not in my hair!” Jesse assures her. “Seriously, take your time.”

Later, when Iris and Felicity are having coffee and bagels on the train, Felicity asks about Jesse. “She’s adorable.”

“Isn’t she?” Iris says. “I said I was going to hate whoever they replaced Barry with, even if it was only temporary. So of course they hire Jesse who’s, like, the cutest thing that’s ever happened. Also, I think she’s a little afraid of me.”

“Why’s that?”

“I may have asked her what the hell she was doing here when I first saw her in Barry’s lab. But I’m nice to her now!” she adds defensively.

“I’m sure you are. How’s Linda?”

“…really weird. Ever since she got back from winning her Pulitzer, she starts blushing and stammering at really random moments.”

“Ooh, keep me posted on _that_.”

“Uh-huh. So, what are we doing? I am up for anything, seriously, I’ve been wanting something to do for weeks.”

“Yeah, about that. You’re not exactly going to be relaxing here.”

Iris raises her eyebrows. “Why does that sounds more sinister than it should?”

“Oliver needs your help with something. Well, actually, he needs True North’s help.”

***

“So I want to be clear about this.”

“That’s always a good idea.”

“There is a masked man in green running around doing vigilante things like saving people’s lives and fighting crime, and you want me to stop him?”

“Not _stop_ him,” Felicity corrects. “Just, you know. Find out what he’s up to.”

Iris blinks at her and sits down. “Because there can only be _one_ green-clad mysterious superhero, and Oliver doesn’t want any competition?”

“Well, that, and other people are worried about him. And you know that, because he’s been on your blog since last year.”

That’s Felicity’s trump card, and she knows that Iris knows it, because her friend scowls a little as she thinks. They’re in the Foundry, which is empty for now but won’t be very, very soon, and they are discussing Felicity’s proposal. On the train ride over here, Felicity told Iris that the reports of a man in green were linked to the incident at Ferris Air that Iris heard about months ago, and people were reporting seeing a mysterious green man around Coast City and Star City. Oliver, being Oliver, was worried that it could be someone more dangerous than what he was letting on.

“Come on, Iris,” she begs. “It’ll be just the thing to get you out of your funk. Besides, it could be fun.”

“Yeah, I know, but that’s not-”

“Felicity, did Oliver get the new katanas in here yet?”

Felicity watches Iris blink as Sara walks in, and then remembers that Iris has no idea who this is. “Um, no, not yet.”

The blonde woman shrugs and walks over to the mini-fridge, not even noticing that Iris is sitting there staring at her. It’s something that Sara is used to, Felicity supposes. “Uh, Sara?”

“Yeah?”

“This is Iris West, a reporter from Central City Picture News and a friend of mine. Iris, this is Sara Lance.”

“Sara _Lance_?” Iris demands. “As in, Laurel’s dead sister?”

“Don’t believe everything you hear on the news, sweetheart,” she says, winking at her.

“I write the news.”

“So you know it’s true. Besides, nobody’s going to believe I was kidnapped by an ancient order of assassins and then trained in their ways of killing.”

“R-Right,” Iris says, and Sara frowns.

“Wait, I know you. You’re the Dollmaker chick. That was pretty badass; are you here to help us with Deathstroke?”

“ _Deathstroke_?”

“Yeah, maybe I should have led with that,” Felicity admits. “Long story short, old enemy of Oliver’s trying to kill everyone and take over the city.”

“So, just a normal day in Star City.”

“I mean, you left out the part where he kidnapped Thea,” Sara adds.

“ _He kidnapped Thea_?” Iris demands.

“Sara, I think Oliver is upstairs,” Felicity says. “Why don’t you go find him?”

Sara holds up her hands in surrender. “Sure. Nice meeting you, Iris.”

“You too. _Deathstroke_?” Iris wants to know as soon as Sara left. “Seriously?”

“Sara shouldn’t have told you that,” Felicity sighs, and Iris looks at her.

“Do we not like Sara?”

“Well, she’s yet another one of Oliver’s mysterious bevy of past woman who come back to date him.”

“We don’t like Sara.”

“No, Iris, we love Sara,” Felicity laughs. “Sara is great. Just…Well, I guess I was too late again. Anyway, about this green alien thing. Will you do it? It’ll really help us out, and I know you’re itching to stretch your True North muscles again.”

Iris sighs. “I don’t know, Felicity…”

“I – ugh, fine. You know I can’t resist the puppy-dog eyes. But you’re taking me shopping.”

“Fine.”

“And making me latkes.”

“Done.”

“And you’re coming with me.”

“Damn.”

***

“Iris, I feel like you don’t really need me for this.”

Iris doesn’t look up from checking her equipment. “Sure I do. You’re my babydoll.”

“I just feel like maybe I’d be better suited to stay here in a supporting capacity. In the Foundry. Inside.”

Iris laughs and fits her gloves over her fingers. “Nice try, Felicity. You got me to do this, you’re doing it with me. Besides, the last time I did something on my own I got kidnapped by the Dollmaker, and we all know how that turned out.”

Felicity curses and ties her hair back as Iris turns back to the map. They have spent the past three days trawling through posts made on Iris’ blog about the mysterious man in glowing green, and they have been able to pinpoint a location on him. There are three abandoned buildings in a certain area of Star City, and Felicity and Iris will be visiting all three to find him.

“Knuckle dusters?”

“Check.”

“Mace?”

“Check.”

“SCPD on speed dial?”

“That’ll be a fun day,” Felicity mutters. “I can just imagine how happy Laurel’s dad will be to see us.”

“Felicity,” Iris says.

“Check.”

“Okay, let’s go get a story.”

They drive partway there in their black outfits in the dark, and Iris explains what’s going to happen as they go. “Now, all the buildings we found were abandoned, and unless they were private property, we have free reign on them. If it is, well…there are ways of getting around that.”

“You amaze me.”

“Thank you. Now, we’ve got the knuckledusters and the mace in case everyone is wrong and he really is dangerous, but we’re looking to find out who he is, not find him. Have you ever broken into a building before? Kidding!” she adds at Felicity’ look. “Mostly. Okay, grab the camera, let’s go.”

The first, unfortunately, is a bust, and they are on their way to the third when they realise that it wasn’t actually abandoned. So now Felicity is holding a flashlight while Iris uses some bobby pins to pick a lock so they can enter. “Isn’t this illegal?” Iris shrugs.

“Technically, no. If somewhere is abandoned, we can say the damage was done by squatters or external elements.”

“You have no idea whether this is illegal or not, do you?”

Iris grins, stands up, and the door swings open. “Nope. Come on.”

They are quiet as they enter, but they soon realise that there is no one is inside. Eventually they come to what looks like this man’s version of the Foundry, complete with computers, empty costume mannequin and noticeboard. Curiously, though, no weapons. Iris gestures for Felicity to take pictures while she studies the board. “Whoa. Pretty girl, check this out.”

Felicity’s eyes widen. “Is that Carol Ferris? The lady who went missing last year?”

“Yeah,” Iris replies, pointing to a newspaper clipping. “Then Ferris Air shut down afterwards. You think he had something to do with – oh my God.”

“What?”

“It’s posts from my blog.”

Felicity looks and runs a hand over all the carefully printed sheets Iris is right – it’s everything to do with the mysterious man that has been sent to Iris in the past few months. “It’s all here.”

“You think he knows we’re looking for him?”

“I do now.”

Felicity and Iris instinctively turn and grab for each other’s hands when they hear the voice. It belongs to a very tall, very muscular man, but the most interesting part is that he’s wearing a green suit and domino mask that covers his eyes. Unlike Oliver, though, there’s no hood.

And, oh yeah, he’s glowing.

Also, he doesn’t look annoyed or angry that they’ve broken into his lair. In fact, he looks mildly amused. “Are you True North? I’m a huge fan of your work, you know. It’s a pleasure.”

“We’re armed,” Iris says immediately, and Felicity hears leather squeeze as Iris tighten her grip on her knuckledusters.

“I don’t doubt that. It’s just that I kind of have super cool alien technology on my side. Alien technology that can do _this_.”

He holds out his right hand and presses on a ring, and suddenly the room is filled with a green light that scans over both their faces. After a second it stops, and throws up up a small green hologram with scrolling text that only he can see. “Iris West, CCPN, and Felicity Smoak, assistant to Oliver Queen. Huh. Cool.”

Felicity and Iris share a glance, and he laughs. “Sorry, I’m such an asshole, I didn’t introduce myself. Hal Jordan. Or, if we’re being technical, you can call me the Green Lantern.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehehehehe. so, regardless of my feelings on the film, i see the above new character as Ryan Reynolds. you're all free to imagine who you want, of course. let me know what you think!


	23. Today Has Been OK

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Linda, Eddie and Iris learn how to be OK (and Hal Jordan eats everything).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long, going through a massive transition. i hope this isn't too rushed!

**Linda - June**

Linda is not thinking about Wally West.

She has been concentrating on work, since she’s now made the move into broadcast sports, and looking after Iris and Eddie, and just getting on with her life. She is not thinking about him. Right now, for example, she’s getting dinner, and then she’ll go home to her apartment and hang out with Iris and Eddie and help them get ready. They are both going back to work tomorrow and she wants them to be hyped and confident. She wants them healing after the Particle Accelerator did so much to them, and besides, if she’s helping Eddie and Iris feel good for their first day of work after taking time off, she won’t think about the fact that she made out with Wally West three weeks ago.

And that she hasn’t told Iris.

It’s okay, though, because Eddie is still on the last big secret that has been dropped on the little group – that Iris is True North. He was mad at first, of course, but then Iris pointed out that she couldn’t exactly tell a police academy trainee that she was an anonymous blogger who was doing things that could get them both in trouble.

“You’d just talk me out of it,” she’d pointed out when she told him in May. “Which is why I never told dad or Wally.”

Now, however, he wants to know _everything_ – including what Iris was doing in Star City last month.

“So he’s an alien?” he asks. “Like Superman.” Iris puts down her fork.

“No, he has alien technology,” she corrects. “He and Superman apparently don’t move in the same circles.”

Linda comes to join them. “Where is he right now?”

“Right now, I believe, is he camping out on Laurel’s couch, pissing off Oliver, and flirting with everyone, including the guys. Though apparently he’s helping them with…something that they’re figuring out,” Iris amends quickly. Linda knows that Oliver is the Arrow but Eddie doesn’t – that is not her secret to tell – so only Linda knows about the chaos that is going on in Star City (Deathstroke, Sara Lance being alive, a dangerous drug being paraded through the hospital system – honestly, she’s glad they live in the fun city). “Hal was kind of doing his own vigilante thing around Coast City and then he got led to Star City while he was looking for something, and that’s where I came in.”

“The Green Lantern,” Eddie repeats. “I have to admit, that’s a pretty cool name. Wonder why he picked it?”

“Something to do with the technology he uses – he’s got a ring that’s in the shape of a lantern.”

“Are you gonna write about him?”

Iris shrugs. “I’m not sure yet. I mean, I’m not sure he wants anyone writing about him yet – although I am gonna do a post letting everyone know that he’s safe and the police shouldn’t worry about him. I just don’t know whether they’ll believe me.”

“Why wouldn’t they believe you?” Eddie frowns. “They believed you about Everyman.”

“Well, I had photographic evidence about that, and they’re looking for him themselves,” Iris points out. “But Hal isn’t doing anything illegal, and it’s not like I can get a picture of him and put it all over the news.”

Linda sighs. “Well, enough about that. Who’s ready for their first day back at work tomorrow?”

Eddie and Iris share an uncertain glance, and Linda puts her hands on her hips. “Come on, you guys, there’s lots of stuff for you guys to get back into! Eddie, I hear there’s lots of robberies and break-ins at scientific facilities for some reason, that’s right up your alley. And Iris! There’s Mayor Bellows’ re-election campaign, the Sun Dial Church case going to trial, and-” But then Linda cuts herself off, biting her lip, and Iris notices.

“What?”

“Well, Mason was floating the idea of writing a story about STAR Labs since the explosion. You know, what happened to everyone, whether it can open again, that kind of thing. I talked him out of it,” she adds quickly at Iris’ expression. “Or, I’m trying, anyway. He just thought that because you still have access, because of Barry-”

“No, I get it,” she interrupts. “I mean, if I were the features editor of CCPN, I’d want to know about it.”

“Actually, that’s something you missed,” Linda says. “Mason’s the Editor-In-Chief.”

“Seriously? Larkin retired?”

“Yup. We are now under the supreme rule of Mason Bridge. Nothing much has changed, though, he still throws things at people and makes the interns cry. It’s just now he has a bigger office and no one can tell him what to do.”

“Great,” Iris sighs. “Totally looking forward to going back to work. Anyway, I know everyone wants to know about what’s going on there, since the court files are mostly sealed apart from the settlement money. But there’s something about Dr Wells…I mean, of course, Caitlin and Cisco are working around the clock to make sure Barry wakes up, because they’re his friends, but so is Dr Wells. He’s there every day and every night, giving them ideas and encouraging them and making sure they don’t give up. I usually just pass it off as guilt, but…” she laughs. “Sometimes I think he wants Barry to wake up as much as Henry and I do. And it just feels wrong to write this big expose about how far he’s fallen when he’s doing so much for Barry.”

Eddie nods. “She’s right. I was over there this week – I don’t know what he studied in college, but he’s almost as much of an expert on this medical stuff as Caitlin.”

“Well, look at you two, being all optimistic,” Linda says proudly. Eddie laughs.

“Yeah, I think Wally’s rubbing off on me. Ever since he started working with Johnny Chambers over at Queen Industries, he’s like this ray of sunshine.”

Iris laughs and Linda joins in, doing her best to ignore the fluttering in her stomach that started up when Eddie mentioned Wally’s name. “Right?” Iris says. “That guy is hilarious. I went to get Wally for lunch, and they were firing paintballs at a target with Donald Trump’s face on it. He even let me join in!”

“Yeah, Jesse says he’s always been like that,” Eddie says. “When they lived in Gotham he’d do stuff like that all the time.”

“Jesse lived in Gotham?” Linda asks, and Iris nods.

“Yeah, she was at Gotham U a few years after I was at Northwestern. She’s a little younger than Wally, but she’s one of those super geniuses that skipped a bunch of grades – she just got out of graduate school.”

“That’s cool,” Eddie says. “Hey, maybe they could date. They’d make a cute couple.”

“Once they got past Wally’s asshole tendencies,” Iris snorts, “they’d be great. Don’t you think, Linda?”

Linda is surprised at how vehemently she hates the idea of Wally dating adorable, nerdy, genius Jesse Chambers. Iris notices that she hasn’t said anything. “Lin? You okay?”

“It’s fine,” she says quickly. “I’m fine. Um, how’s Wally? I haven’t seen him in a while.”

Because she’s been avoiding his usual coffee times and makes sure he isn’t visiting Barry while she’s there (Caitlin’s a little too knowing for her own good, but she knows she won’t say anything to anyone). Iris shrugs.

“He’s great. He and Johnny are really looking forward to putting their generator in an actual car…which reminds me, when that happens, we’re going to Gotham.”

“Gotham?” Linda asks.

“The mean streets of Gotham will be safer than whatever the hell will happen when my brother puts something that he made into an actual moving vehicle. Remember fifth grade? Remember the toy helicopter?”

Eddie shakes his head. “Mrs Scavo was never the same again, poor soul,” he says gravely.

“Hey, it was pretty cool for a kid his age to do something like that,” Linda points out. Iris rolls her eyes.

“Whatever. Hey, maybe that can be the next thing I write about. ‘Local graduate creates actual flying car-‘”

“And is immediately kidnapped by LutherCorp,” Eddie laughs, and Iris throws a pillow at him.

“That’s not funny!”

“I mean, it’s true. Every time there’s a scientist that discovers something new and they’re unattached, they somehow end up working at LutherCorp, usually through blackmail.”

“Well, I’ll get Oliver to give him a job before then,” Iris says, and Linda and Eddie give her a look. “Fine, I’ll get Felicity, Dig or Laurel to get him to give Wally a job.”

***

Okay. Okay, so the Not Thinking About Wally thing may not be going so well.

Sure, it _starts_ fine. She and Iris go to work, and everyone welcomes Iris back (Linda may have threatened a few, but they are mostly nice people who genuinely want to see Iris back), and everything is great. Linda is the newest broadcast sports reporter but she still has writing responsibilities, so she spends the day with her interns training them in how to handle a press conference or a big game. The first thing she does, however, is call Annie, the red-haired intern who’s been promoted to stringer along with Steph, Chris and Todd, over to her desk.

“Hey, Annie,” she says, beckoning her over. The intern smiles radiantly at her.

“Anything I can do for you, Linda?”

“Yeah, actually. You’re on Iris’ desk this month, right? You’re doing her research and fact-checking?”

Annie nods. “Yeah, we’re seeing if we can get assigned to the Sun Dial Church case, and Iris is looking into the scientific break-ins. Apparently your friend Eddie has been assigned to that?”

“Really?” Linda says in surprise. Eddie, apparently, works fast. “Well, that’s something. Listen, I need you to keep an eye on her for the time being, make sure she’s doing okay and stuff.” Annie’s brow furrows.

“You want me to spy on her?”

“No, not _spy_. Just help her out. You know her boyfriend’s in the hospital and she’s been taking some time off work. There have been some changes around here, so just be patient when you’re explaining them.”

And it is fine. Linda loves her work – she has since she and Iris were kids and they would write little stories about what had happened in their neighbourhood – and with the Pulitzer she won, people are taking interest in her work. She actually has fanmail, for one, and she’s gotten a load of messages from the people who she networked with at the ceremony. It was a lovely ceremony, actually, from start to finish, and-

Linda freezes, because she’s remembering what happened at the ceremony – the most memorable part.

And it wasn’t winning the award.

“Linda?”

“Yeah?” she says quickly, breaking out of her thoughts. She looks at Chris, who is handing her a stack of his notes he’s taken on player positions and worth before this year’s football season. “Oh, thanks. Uh, work on your own stuff for now, I’ll call if I need you for anything.”

When Linda got back, she told Iris and Eddie about every detail of the ceremony, but she left out one part. She was concentrating on the part where she stood up and they gave her the award and her mom loudly proclaimed that that was her daughter – not what happened _before_ the ceremony that sent her into a bundle of nerves, or what happened after that confirmed what she feared for years. But now she’s remembering it and it seriously gets in the way of her Not Thinking About Wally plan.

***

“Mom – Mom, enough with the pictures! It hasn’t even started yet!”

Vera Park-Vincent ignores her daughter and continued to take her pictures even as people milled around her before the ceremony started. Columbia University is a large place, but the luncheon and ceremonial dinner will take place at the Low Library, where there will be photographers and a speech by the head of the committee. They are early – which Linda is still surprised at – and she is there in the dress that Iris helped her pick out with her parents. She looks to her father for help.

“Dad, make her stop,” she begs, but Matthew Park shakes his head.

“I could never make your mother do anything when we were married, Lin, so I don’t have much hope for you now. Besides, this is important.”

“Thank you, Matthew,” her mother says warmly, and gestures for Linda to turn. “Your father’s right, dear – you won a _Pulitzer_! I’m making a photo album out of this as soon as we get back home.”

Linda resists the urge to growl. She knows that it must be a special occasion because her parents – who are known amongst her friends for their messy divorce when she was a child – are getting along. And, more importantly, getting along so they can embarrass her on her big day. But they’re her parents and they love her, so of course they’re proud of her and they want to do this. And a little part – okay, a big part – is glad of all the attention. She gives a helpless smile.

“Okay, mom. Hey, I think you guys should go in and find your seats, I’ll be in in a minute.”

Her parents move off – after her mother has coerced some more people into taking pictures of all three of them at various angles – and she goes to the bar to get some cold water. They will have the announcement and the speeches, where everyone will get their awards and prize money, and then they’ll have the luncheon. Linda orders an ice water and drinks it, letting the cool liquid wash down her throat and cool her skin, and she’s fixing her hair in her little mirror when she hears someone call her name.

“Linda? Linda Park?”

Linda turns and stares. A very tall, very muscular and _very attractive_ black man is facing her, a grin spreading across his face. She gapes at him. “Jimmy Olsen?”

His grin widens. “I thought that was you, how are you?”

“I’m great!” she replies, hugging him. She surveys his broad figure in the black suit with the cufflinks. “You look amazing!”

“Thanks, so do you. I didn’t know you were nominated, what are you here for?”

“Sports, the article I wrote about the Tommy Holland thing for the paper. You?”

“The Planet put me forward for another picture of the big guy.”

Linda nods, impressed. “He always did love you the most, Jimmy.”

“Actually, it’s ‘James’ now.”

“James,” she corrects herself, laughing. “Sorry. So, um, how’s Lucy?”

It’s a testament to how grown up they are now that none of them flinch at the mention of Jimmy’s – _James_ ’ – girlfriend. Mostly because she and James were a short-lived thing in their first year of college that they remember fondly, especially because they had to spent much of their four years together (him because of photography, her because of journalism). They email occasionally, so she knows that he’s been with Lucy for three years and that he works at the Daily Planet, and that he won a Pulitzer last year for his ground-breaking picture of Superman. She assumes, then, that he knows about everything that’s been going on her life, especially since half of it was in the news.

“She’s great,” he says evenly, and she’s spent enough time with Iris (who’s criminal psychology and investigative journalism and general inability to leave well enough alone) to recognise the signs in his face that all might not be well between them. But that is none of her business and she isn’t Iris (or Felicity, who if she were here she would probably hack into James’ phone if she asked), and there is also the fact that even though Iris loves _Lois_ Lane, out of solidarity with Laurel, they are not the biggest fans of _Lucy_ Lane, who went to law school with Laurel, so she smiles.

“That’s good to know,” she replies. “Is she here?”

“No, actually she’s in Kansas. Work stuff.”

“Oh, is that why she’s not here with you? I know she wouldn’t have wanted to miss your big day, so it’s gotta be pretty big.”

James laughs, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, there’s that. But I think it’s mostly because we broke up a few months ago.”

Hey eyes widen. “Really? Jimmy – _James_ , I’m so sorry, I didn’t know-”

“It’s okay,” he shrugs lightly. “It just wasn’t working – I had to move around a lot for work, it was getting harder for us to deal with it…I guess it just ran its course. Work does that a lot, but I guess you know that.”

“Got that right. I haven’t dated anyone in months – work seriously takes over your life. You, though, you’ve always been a popular guy – looking to stay single for a little while or is there anyone you’re interested in?”

And James laughs again nervously and Linda raises an eyebrow. “Okay, who is she?”

“…she’s just a girl from work. But it wouldn’t work out, since we work together, and I’m friends with her cousin…”

“Sounds a lot like excuses to me, James Bartholomew Olsen.” He gives her a look.

“What do you know about it, Park? I thought Iris was the investigative journalist.”

She sips her water. “She’s been teaching me a thing or two.”

“Uh-huh. What about you? Anyone you’re thinking about?”

“Dude, didn’t you hear what I just said? I-”

“Delivery for Linda Park!”

She frowns, turns and then gasps. Jimmy whistles appreciatively, and everyone gasps and gathers around. Because there are four delivery men holding exquisitely arranged peonies, one of them with a clipboard (Wayne Logistics) in his hands. She gets up and walks over to him, her mouth hanging open in shock. “Um – I’m her. I’m Linda Park.”

“Great, sign here-”

“Wait, I can’t have them here, I’m about to have dinner.”

The delivery guy shrugs and pops his gun. “Yeah, we know. Our instructions were to show you the flowers and give you the card. The manager says they can sit here for a little bit and then we can take them to the lobby of your hotel. The guy who ordered them was very specific.”

She frowns. “The guy who ordered them?”

He hands her the card, and Linda’s mouth drops open again.

_Good luck today! I know you’ll win, but if not, just say the word and the committee members’ cars? Broken. Cisco, Felicity and I have been working on some new toys, and not giving you a Pulitzer means they’ll need to be taught a lesson._

_You kick ass either way, though._

_Love, Wally_

She gapes at the card until the delivery boy pops his gum again, before signing for the flowers and checking that her hotel address is correct – it is, Iris must have told him – and looks up at James. He’s grinning at her and she sighs.

“Shut up.”

“Looks like I’m not the only one pining after someone.”

“I’m not – you’re pining over the girl at your office?”

He shrugs. “Maybe, maybe not. You don’t know that. What _I_ know is that you took one look at that guy’s name and started blushing, so you obviously like him too.”

Linda purses her lips. “I’m – He’s not – It’s complicated.”

“How?”

“Well, we’re really close friends, I’m best friends with his sister-”

“Sounds a lot like excuses to me,” he interrupts, mimicking her voice, “Linda Jasmine Park.”

“I said _shut up_.”

***

Of course, it’s Wally. Everybody loves Wally. _She_ loves Wally.

She just isn’t sure _how_.

Linda eyes Iris at her desk across the room as she works. Iris and Wally don’t look exactly alike, but it’s clear to anyone that they’re siblings. They both have the same bright smile and kind eyes, though Wally has Joe’s ears and Iris has Francine’s pretty features. Those damn flowers and that damn card distracted her for the rest of the ceremony _and_ the dinner, as did the little gif that he sent when she texted him to say thank you. That’s what she’s telling herself, as she told herself that night, that that’s why it means so much to her, because it’s Iris’ baby brother. And she adds it to the list of things she’s been telling herself about Wally for years, like that she joins Iris in complaining about his girlfriends because that’s what family does (and not because she thinks he can do better), and she makes fun of his ears because _everyone_ makes fun of Wally’s ears (even though she thinks they’re adorable), and she looks forward to seeing him because it’s Wally and he’s hilarious.

It works, too. Until she comes home.

Because then Wally is in her apartment looking after Iris, putting her to bed, and then saying she can have his leftover enchiladas if she wants in that adorable way that he does, while still managing to be a snarky asshole. And she keeps drinking red wine and watching him talk about his work (and she and Iris really do have to research that boss of his), and she realises soon that she’s perfectly content to watch him geek out about fast cars and speed equations and launching toasters out of catapults. Eventually they both realise that they have work the next day and Wally suggests that they leave, and she notices that the wine is making her a little touchier than usual because she hugs him before they go to the door. And…she’s flirting with him, in a way that would make both Eddie and Iris laugh at her, and she can’t seem to stop. But she remembers that Wally is basically her family and forces herself to stop noticing how strong his jaw looks and how good her looks when he rubs the stubble on it.

And then Wallace Rudolph West kisses her.

It’s not a peck, either, and it’s not a shy kiss, which is what surprises her. When Wally brings his hands up to cup her face and steps into the kiss, she gets the strong feeling that he’s trying to tell her something with this kiss. And then when she reaches her own hands up to brush his knuckles with the pads of his fingers, she feels a response to whatever it is he’s saying trying to work its way out of her even as her heart is in her throat. But then before she can vocalise it, before she can make sense of the churning _thing_ that’s boiling in her stomach because Wally is kissing her, he stops. Just – pulls away from her with a smack and stares at her, his pupils blown wide.

“Oh, crap,” he breathes, looking at her. “Shit. Shit, I – Linda, I’m sorry.”

“Wally-”

“That won’t – It won’t happen again.” He’s backing away from her, his eyes wide with panic. “God, Linda, I’m sorry.”

Linda is left standing there, gaping in shock as he runs away from her, trying to make sense of what the hell just happened and why her mouth is telling her that she desperately wants it to happen again.

So it’s a couple of weeks later and Linda is trying not to think about that night. She’s successfully gotten rid of the memory of the flowers, too. Instead, she chooses to concentrate on her best friend (conveniently forgetting the part about how Iris will likely kill her for making out with her little brother), who she is proud of say is getting back in the swing of things. She’s one of the reporters on the Sun Dial Church case, and Annie has so far reported that nothing is wrong. But now it’s getting to dinnertime and she and other other senior staff writers have a general rule that they try to send the interns home at reasonable times when they can. She calls Iris, who walks over reading the three different reports she has in her hand.

“Hey, Lin,” she says, still reading. “What’s up?”

“Nothing,” she replies, “just checking some of the notes the interns made. So, it’s almost dinnertime.”

“Great, I’m starving, think we can get Italian tonight?”

“Sure. But I just wanted to say that its getting late, and Annie was on Mason’s desk last week-”

“Say no more,” Iris interrupts. She turns to the red-haired intern, who is draining what must be her third cup of coffee. “Annie?”

She springs up, her curls bouncing around her shoulders. “Yes, Iris? Anything you need?”

“No, actually you can go home now.”

“Are you sure? Because I’m happy to-”

“Annie, honey, if you drink anymore coffee I’ll be able to dry you out and make beans,” she laughs. “Seriously, go. If I have anything I need you to research I’ll call you.”

After she leaves Iris sits on the edge of Linda’s desk, giving her best friend a look. “So. She was very helpful today.”

Linda snorts. “She was on Mason’s assignments for a week, ladybird. She’s probably just happy she gets to eat.”

“Uh-huh. And the constantly asking whether I’d eaten or whether I needed an aspirin or whether there was anything I wanted to talk about?”

“…she’s very nosy.”

“Lin.”

“Oh, whatever,” she says. “I was worried about my best friend, sue me.”

Iris grins and squeezes her shoulder. “Don’t worry, it was sweet. But I really am fine, Linda. It’s good to be back at work – I mean, as much as I love them all, there’s only so many times you can watch Hal make the vein in Oliver’s neck pop before it starts being scary.”

“Glad to hear it.”

“Good. Now, get up, we’re making the dinner run.”

“What? Why?”

“It’s a nice night, and I’m bored.”

Linda mutters darkly about making her get up from her perfectly comfortable desk, but Iris is laughing and grinning in a way that she hasn’t since she took all that time off work. The June evening is her favourite kind – warm but with a crisp breeze. She can imagine going on romantic walks on nights like this. With-

Nope. Do not pull on that thread.

“So, did you hear the news?” she says instead to distract herself. Iris raises an eyebrow.

“Bruce Wayne has a new girlfriend? Please, I’ve been on leave for six weeks, I’ve been keeping up with his business like a pro. Apparently, she’s a flight attendant.”

Linda raises her eyebrows in surprise. “So, he’s moved on? Wow, from the time he ran off with the whole of the Russian national ballet team I’d think he was more into the dancer type.”

“Apparently not. Her name’s Selina Kyle, but that’s all anyone really knows about her. But she’s drop-dead gorgeous, of course.”

“Bruce Wayne and his love life,” Linda says. “The hero we deserve.”

They turn into the restaurant and then Iris has to take a call so she leaves, and she wanders over to the bar for some water. And that’s when she sees Wally and her stomach does this ridiculous little flip. He’s not alone – Johnny is there and so are who Linda assumes must be some of his friends from work. She turns quickly back to her drink, her face burning. Okay, fine, Wally regrets it. Maybe he was a little drunk as well or maybe he was caught in the moment, or whatever. Either way, she hasn’t seen him at Jitters, he never vists the apartment, and she never sees him when she goes to the West house for whatever reason. And that would be fine – it would all be fine – were it not for the fact that she _couldn’t stop thinking_ about kissing him. Again. A lot.

So when she spots Iris, she’s determined to drag her friend out of here with their dinner orders as quickly as possible before she sees her brother, because then they’ll go over to say hello, and she’ll have to look at Wally and pretend that his kiss didn’t bring up all these _feelings_ inher, and she’s starting to worry that they’re permanent. But she doesn’t have to worry, because when Iris walks up to her she looks dazed. Linda frowns.

“Hey, honey, you okay?” Iris shakes her head, swallowing.

“I – that was Laurel,” she says quickly. “Moira Queen died about an hour ago.”

“Oliver’s mom?” Linda breathes, her heart plummeting. “You’re kidding. She _died_? But she’s only, what, fifty-six? Fifty-seven?”

“Yeah,” Iris sighs, rubbing her eyes. “Well, no, actually. She didn’t die. She was…murdered. By Deathstroke.”

Linda’s hands start to shake. She knows about everything Iris has gotten up to – she is one of the people who yelled at her about _following a serial killer_ – but that doesn’t mean it’s not terrifying when it brushes them like this, like when Iris had to deal with the Ventriloquist or when she got attacked by Tommy Holland. She knows that Deathstroke had something to do with that as well, and she’s grateful that Oliver and the others took steps to make sure that she was safe after it happened.

“Is there anything they need?” she asks as they walk out of the restaurant, but Iris shakes her head.

“Sara and Dig are trying to find Oliver – he took off – and Laurel’s planning the funeral and looking after Thea. Felicity’s kind of freaked, but I’ll call her later and see whether we can go up there and help this weekend. And I have to tell…Right, of course I don’t have to, but I have to, you know?”

“Caitlin says that the auditory responses are the last to deteriorate,” Linda says gently. “There’s every chance that Barry can hear everything you’re saying.”

“Yeah,” Iris agrees, laughing a little. “And if I know Barry, he’s probably feeling guilty that he’s not here to help. He loves Oliver. You know, despite the fact that he once threw a table at him.”

“I mean, that’s understandable.”

***

Linda is in the precinct eating lunch with Eddie when she sees the news of Moira Queen’s death reported on the news, and even with the tragedy of the Particle Accelerator and everything that came with it, it is a sobering reminder, especially with how powerful Moira has always been. Eddie turns away from the screen and gives her a sad smile. “When it rains it pours, right? How’s Oliver?”

Linda runs a hand through her hair. “Well, Iris texted me to say that the funeral went perfectly well and was well-attended, but apparently Oliver took some time to himself. I think losing another parents so soon after losing another one must have screwed with him. But Iris feels like they’re doing well enough that she can come home tomorrow, so…”

“Well, that’s good to hear. What’s up with you?”

“I get to take the training wheels off one of the interns’ bike later,” she says proudly. “You’ve met Steph, right?”

“Sure,” Eddie nods as he takes a bite out of his sandwich. “She was in the hospital with you, right?”

“Right. Well, she was originally a sports intern, but I’m thinking she’d actually be better suited to broadcast journalism, and I’m going to tell her today.”

Eddie high-fives her, grinning. “Look at you, Lin, promoting people! Pretty soon you’ll be running that place.”

“Duh, Eddie, haven’t you been listening about Mason? I’m telling you, CCPN is one of his Horcruxes.”

“Okay, so what’s the equivalent of the Elder Wand?” he muses. “Uh…The Presidential Medal of Freedom?”

Linda hits him and he laughs before focusing on someone behind her. “Hey, Jesse Quick. Got anything for me?”

Linda turns to see the smiling CSI hand something to Eddie, beaming. “Hey, Eddie, what’s up? Hi, Linda.”

“Jesse,” she says evenly. She’s only met Barry’s temporary replacement once and Iris loves her, despite her vow to hate whoever was working in his lab until he comes back to work, but Jesse is adorable and smart and helpful. And also, friends with Wally.

But that doesn’t matter.

“What are you up to this weekend?” he continues, filing the report in his desk. She grins.

“Actually, some friends and I are going to this demonstration my dad is going at the University, since Singh gave me the afternoon off. He’s testing a generator he’s been building with his intern. Wait, duh, you know him, it’s-”

“Wally,” Linda finishes. “Is that today? I thought it wasn’t going to be ready until next week.”

“Yeah, they’re not ready to show it yet,” she admits. “But he texted me to see the latest test-run, and I was bored, so – Oh, there he is. Yo, West?”

Wally strides in and spots them, grinning. That is, until he clocks her sitting on the edge of Eddie’s desk and his grin falters a little. She bites the inside of her cheek, a little hurt. Okay, maybe he thinks it’s a mistake, but she’s not _that_ bad a kisser, is she?

“Hey, guys,” he says. “Good day?”

“Same old, same old,” Eddie shrugs. “But Lin here is finally ruling CCPN – she’s promoting one of her interns today.”

“Really?” Jesse asks. “That’s amazing! I loved your report on the Tommy Holland thing – are they going to be on TV like you?”

“Thanks,” Linda says in surprise. Okay, this girl really is adorable. “She will, but not doing sports. More doing broadcast journalism – the kind of stuff that Iris writes about, but she’ll be doing it live, probably.”

Jesse nudges Wally. “You know, I think I’m hanging out with the wrong West. Your sister and her friends are all cooler than you.” Wally rolls his eyes.

“Are not.”

“Are too.”

“Are not.

“Dude, they totally are.”

“Sorry to interrupt this stellar argument,” Eddie deadpans. “Actually, I’m not. Jesse, I know you haven’t worked here long, but Singh’s moods change like nobody’s business, so if he sees you here all happy and cheerful-”

“Noted,” she says quickly. She looks at Wally. “We should go. Later, guys.”

“See you,” Eddie yawns, but before anyone can say anything else Linda has hopped down from Eddie’s desk, reached up, and swiped her handkerchief over Wally’s forehead. He blinks at her, his eyes wide with naked shock.

“You had oil on your forehead,” she shrugs, a little wicked part of her delighting in the fact that Wally looks all dazed and confused. “Bye, Wally.”

“B-Bye, Linda,” he says breathlessly, and then turns and leaves with a quick mumbled ‘bye’ to Eddie, Jesse following him. She throws the handkerchief away and looks at Eddie, who’s texting someone, before he raises an eyebrow at her.

“What?” she asks.

“Nothing.”

***

Linda lasts until that night.

As the day wears on she gets more and more annoyed, and she’s starting to realise that she doesn’t _want_ their kiss to be a mistake. She’s always known she has a soft spot for Wally, and she can no longer deny that it’s more than him being Iris’ little brother. But he won’t talk to her and he won’t look at her and he’s avoiding all the places they see each other, so that day after work, while she’s drinking a glass of wine to unwind, something in her snaps. She’s fairly certain it’s the fact that he posted a picture of himself and Jesse and Cisco and their other friends on Twitter, and she felt a not small twinge of jealousy that Jesse and Wally were next to each other, but she knows it wasn’t helped by the wine.

And it’s the wine that’s fuelling her when she walks from her apartment to his house and bangs on the door. She knows that because she never even thought to consider that Joe might be home, so she feels incredibly lucky that it’s Wally that answers the door. He stands there, a rag thrown over his shoulder, a shocked look on his face.

“L-Linda?” he splutters. He looks around, as if Iris or Eddie will turn up too, and that makes her even madder.

“What are you doing-”

“No, Wally, what are _you_ doing?” she demands, walking past him into the house. He shuts the door and swallows.

“Uh, I was making dinner, and-”

“Not that, you idiot, I mean with _me_! Why the hell did you kiss me?”

“That was a mistake, I’m sorry-”

“It didn’t feel like a mistake, Wally, and you know it wasn’t. Because if it was a mistake we would talk about it like grownups-”

“Of course it was a mistake!” he interrupts. She blinks, surprised that he cut her off, and he continues, pacing.

“I – You’re _Linda_. You’re Iris’ best friend. You’re completely the wrong person to have feelings for. Even if it felt good – God, even if it felt _awesome_. I was looking and Iris and Barry and how broken she is right now and I didn’t want that to be me, and I guess I just was thinking. So I’m sorry, I’m sorry I kissed you, but it was a mistake, and-”

Linda, who has spent this entire speech watching him, marches right up to him.

“You,” she says calmly, “are an _idiot_.”

And this time, she kisses him.

He tries to interrupt but she just kisses him harder, and eventually he just gives up and wraps his arms around her, and then they’re just making out in Joe’s kitchen. They stand like that, kissing and kissing, until they both have to come up for air. They stare at each other, breathing hard. Linda’s body is protesting at the lack of contact, and Wally’s eyes keep darting back to her mouth.

“So,” she pants. “That was…”

“Right,” he agrees. “It was.”

“Still think it was a mistake?”

“No fucking way,” he replies, and Linda giggles. Wally grins.

“I really didn’t mean to do that. I was supposed to do it – you know, properly. Make an actual move.”

“Moves?”

“Oh, I’ve got moves you’ve never seen.”

“Did you just quote _My Best Friend’s Wedding_?”

Wally shrugs. “It’s not like it’s a lie.”

“Hm,” she says. She gives him a quick, chaste kiss and looks down at their entwined hands.

“So, what does this mean?”

“What do you want it to mean?” he asks carefully. Linda bites her lip.

“Well, do you want to go on a date?”

“Yes!” he says eagerly, and then clears his throat. “I mean, yeah, that would be great.”

“Awesome, I – Wait, what about Jesse?”

He frowns. “Jesse?”

“Yeah, I thought you guys were…”

“…Oh. _Oh_. No, I’m not interested in her. And she has a boyfriend – Max something. Besides, dating my boss’ daughter? He may _actually_ throw a toaster at me.”

Linda laughs again and Wally smiles at her, and she honestly wonders how she denied it for this long. Then she realises something.

“We can’t tell Iris. Or Eddie.” Wally nods.

“I was thinking that, too.”

“I’m not ashamed or anything,” she says quickly. “Just, with him losing Bette and her losing Barry, I don’t want to flaunt it. And it does kind of take the pressure off.”

“No pressure,” he nods. “No pressure is good.”

Linda grins and grabs his hand, but then jumps when she feels something spark blue and hot between their fingers. “Static?”

 Wally grins lazily at her. “Guess we have electric chemistry.”

“Dork,” she mutters, kissing him again. “Wally?”

“Yeah?”

“Got any spicy beef tamales?”

***

**Eddie – July**

“Hi, Bette. I, um, guess you’re used to being here now. Do you like the spot? General Eiling wanted somewhere else, but I think Joe yelled at someone and me and your parents got to pick this one. It’s closest to the bay, at least.”

Eddie looks back at Iris’ figure by the entrance of the cemetery. This is not a scheduled visit – Iris caught him walking to Jitters from his apartment since it’s such a nice day, and she said she would accompany him if he wanted. And it’s Iris and she’s his family, one of the people who helped him through the funeral and still helping him now, so of course he doesn’t mind. Because she understands without being told that he wants to do this part by himself. He is almost finished, anyway.

“So, what did you miss? Oh, I’m not moving. The paperwork went through today – Chyre died, so Patty’s taking his place, and I’m staying his partner. It’s for the best, I guess, since I really love his Sunday dinners. And I don’t really want to move to Coast City without…without you. What else? Right, Iris is True North. I was really mad that she didn’t tell me sooner, but I would have just talked her out of half the stuff she did.” He pauses. “Barry’s the same, which isn’t great, but it’s not bad, either. They’re saying there’s nothing more they can do – his body is healed, his nervous system is fine, his brain is normal. He just has to wake up. I guess we’re all just waiting for that. Anyway,” he sighs, “I have to get to work now. I just wanted to talk to you. I love you, baby.”

Iris gives him a small smile as they walk out of the cemetery, arms linked, and she knows him well enough to see that he’s not really in the mood for talking, so she just talks herself. He’s grateful for Iris, and Linda and Wally and Joe – they have been his family since he was a child and his father died. It is a natural friendship, as easy to him as breathing, and one of the reasons he is still standing after Bette was taken from him.

“…so Oliver is back,” she finishes as they head towards work. “He’s doing better, I think, but I’ll call Laurel later to see if there’s anything we can do to help.”

“Did they catch the guy who killed his mom?” he asks. Iris nods.

“Yeah, it was the same terrorist who tried to blow up Star City. But I can’t really say-”

“Say no more,” he interrupts. “The less I know about what goes on there, the better the chance I don’t have to testify about it.”

“Believe me, I wish I had that privilege. The amount of things I know as True North, I _really_ wish I didn’t.”

He looks at her. “Yeah, I’ve been reading through your blog. You’ve gotten up to some crazy stuff, ladybird.”

“Yeah, I have. But I’ve been thinking of…I don’t know.”

“What is it?”

“Well, Mason mentioned something to me last year, before the explosion, about how it would help people believe in True North more if they knew it was a real person.”

He frowns. “Iris, plenty of people believe in True North. Just a few months ago, you put Everyman in the news and got all those people out of prison. I mean, I know we haven’t caught him yet, but…”

“I know that, I do. But sometimes I just think I owe it to them to tell them who I am, because they’ve always believed in me.” She bites her lip and Eddie sighs, smiling.

“You want to ask Barry about it, don’t you?” She laughs sadly.

“Is it that obvious?”

“Well, yeah. You two weren’t really fooling anyone with your ‘just friends’ crap, you know, especially when you were either joined at the hip or always talking about each other. Besides, I can’t think of the number of times I’ve wanted to ask Bette something, and she wasn’t there. Even now.”

Iris squeezes his arm tighter as they walk. “There’s just something about them that’s so _strong_ , you know? Everything Barry said always made perfect sense, like, ‘Duh, of course that’s what I should do’. Most times it’s fine, but then I keep thinking about this and i just really want to know what he would think.

Eddie nods. “Yeah, I get that. But you’ve always had pretty good instincts, ladybird, so whatever you decide to do, I’m sure it’ll work out.”

Iris smiles at him. “Well said, pretty boy. Okay, so I’ll see you after work?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

She kisses him on the cheek lightly before striding off in the direction of CCPN, and Eddie walks quickly to the precinct. He has requested a lot of work so he can get back into the swing of things, and the Captain has rewarded him with the Sun Dian Church case, compiling evidence for the trial. He’d honestly prefer working with Barry, since they have a shorthand that makes everything much easier, but he does like Jesse. He will have to ask her to make sure her dad stops hurling things around when he visits, though.

Eddie walks past the gym and pauses, as he always does. It’s not his day to go and he never usually goes alone, but this place will always have fond memories for him. Specifically, the first time he saw Bette Sans Souci.

***

“Put your weight behind it, Barry.”

“What weight? Not all of us are built like you.”

Eddie laughs. “You gotta start from somewhere, Barry.”

Barry gives him a look and raises the gloves again, his brow furrowed in concentration as he concentrates on the punching bag. Taking a deep breath, he drove his right fist into the punching bag. Eddie nods. “Better.”

“That was terrible, you didn’t even react!”

“I didn’t say it was _good_ ,” Eddie points out. “I said it was _better_.”

Barry rolls his eyes and goes for a drink of water while Eddie takes off the pads. Allen started a few months ago and Eddie saw that he didn’t have many friends, so he’s invited him to the gym to do some sparring. They’ve done this a few times and it’s been fun, but mostly because it’s fun for Eddie to watch Barry prove that he really is terrible at all sports.

“It would help if you would loosen up a little,” Eddie says, and Barry laughs.

“Have you met me? If I loosen up too much I could cause an accident with all these legs of mine. Besides, I think I should go on the running machines again.”

“You run like a duck.”

“I know, but at least I won’t hurt myself.”

“It would help,” an amused voice said, “if you were teaching him the correct stance.”

They both turn – surprised, since the gym is pretty quiet today – to see a fair-skinned woman with dark red hair and brown eyes smirking at them. Eddie raises an eyebrow.

“You saying there’s something wrong with my stance?”

“No. Not if you’re an amateur who learned how to fight from Jackie Chan movies, that is.”

Barry’s eyes widen and Eddie folds his arms. “That so? And you’re saying you could teach me?”

She lifts her shoulder in a shrug. “I can teach you both if you want.”

Barry clears his throat. “Just to let everyone know, nobody has to teach me anything. I am perfectly happy being in the corner with my duck legs on the treadmill.”

“Fine by me,” the woman says. She rolls her shoulders and flicks her eyes to the empty boxing ring. “When you’re ready.”

She turns without a word and goes to get some gloves and Barry looks at Eddie, who’s staring after. “Dude, are you nuts?”

“No, why?”

“Because she’s in the army! She could kick your ass blindfolded if she wanted to.”

“How do you know that?”

“The dog tags,” Barry says, but Eddie shrugs.

“Whatever. She’s, like, three inches shorter than me.”

“And you’re three inches shorter than _me_ ,” Barry points out. “And we both know you could still kick my ass.”

Eddie’s about to speak when the woman calls him over, tying her long hair back. “Come on, pretty boy, let’s show you how it’s done.”

They get in the ring and Eddie notices that there are a few people watching them. She quirks an eyebrow at him. “Mind an audience?”

“Not at all.”

They get in position and Bette narrows his eyes at how he’s standing. “See, there’s your problem. You need to throw your shoulders forward a little more and spread your feet apart.”

Eddie raises his eyebrows. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“Because I’ve been doing this for years and-”

But Eddie doesn’t get to finish, because she surges forward, swipes her legs under his, and has his chest pinned to the floor before he has a chance to draw breath. The people gathered around them burst into appreciative applause. She leans close to him, her mouth brushing the hair above his ear. “That’s why, pretty boy. Don’t worry, nothing’s broken. You’re one of the lucky ones.”

She gets off him and walks out of the ring without a word, her ponytail swinging behind her as she walks, and Barry gets in the ring and kneels beside him as he gets up.

“That was amazing,” he says in a low voice. “Maybe I will get her to teach me, if she can floor you like that…Wait, what are you grinning at?”

Eddie is still staring after her. “Her, of course.”

“Why?”

“Because, Allen,” he says, “I am going to marry that girl.”

“You don’t even know her name!”

“Watch me.”

***

“So you think Linda has a boyfriend?” Iris asks later that day. They’re walking to STAR Labs after their day at work – Iris wants to talk to Caitlin and neither of them have seen Barry in a while. Eddie nods.

“Yeah. I mean, you guys never get time off, and she wants to spend her first night off in weeks at the office?”

“That makes sense, actually,” Iris admits. “She keeps texting someone but she won’t tell me who it is, and Felicity won’t hack into her phone for me.”

“Because that’s illegal and immoral and Linda would kill us both.”

“Is it weird that the only one I’m really worried about is Linda killing us both?”

“Nope,” he says. “But what should we do?”

“Oh!” she exclaims. “Plan T!”

“I like it,” he nods in approval. “This’ll be fun. Hey, is that Caitlin over there?”

Iris narrows her eyes. They aren’t at STAR Labs yet, but they can see Caitlin sitting on a bench by the pier. Iris glances at him and then walks over to her, trying to be careful not to startle her. “Hey, Cait,” she says quietly. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” she smiles. “I was just taking a little break. I’ve been in there all day, so I just wanted to get some air. You guys are free to go in, if you want.”

Eddie looks at Iris and clears his throat. “Well, we’re in no hurry. We can sit out here with you, if you want.”

“That would be nice, actually.”

Iris sits next to Caitlin and Eddie sits next to her. They are silent for a while, watching the boats move around on the bay, before Caitlin speaks, her words soft in the July heat.

“It’s Ronnie’s birthday soon,” she says. She doesn’t move or even turn her head, just keeps her eyes fixed on the boats. “He was born on the hottest day of the year. Figures.”

Neither Eddie nor Iris say anything, seeming to understand that this isn’t an invitation for comfort or reassurance. It is just a statement of fact, an acknowledgement of the opportunities for laughter and joy that have disappeared with their loved ones.

“I never got a birthday with Barry,” Iris muses, and Eddie is a little proud when he hears how firm her voice is, that it’s not breaking with grief as it would have only months ago. “I already planned a present for him, but his birthday was in January, and he went into the coma in December.”

“What was the present?” Caitlin asks gently.

“Oh, it wasn’t just one thing. It was like, a whole day. So we’d start by going to the science museum, and then go to Queen Industries to see some new development that Oliver’s company was looking at,” she explains. “And then go to the other side of the bay with the telescopes and have dinner under the stars.”

“That would have been nice.”

“I think so,” Iris agrees.

A fog sounds, low and loud and making their bones shake, and a cooling breeze whips up, welcome on their sticky skin. “I remember,” Eddie says slowly, “the first time Bette agreed to go on a date with me.”

“God, Eddie, I think _everyone_ remembers that,” Iris laughs. “Linda called me and told me you were hung up on some army girl who kept cancelling on you to go overseas.”

“Right. But then she came back on leave and we only had, like, twelve hours before she had to be back on base.”

“What was it like?” Caitlin asks. “Your first date?”

“Oh, it was terrible,” he says bluntly. “She was late, it was raining, her make-up ran, we couldn’t get a taxi, and all our reservations got cancelled. We ended up having Big Belly Burger in the precinct after it closed.”

“And she agreed to date you again?” Iris wants to know. Eddie laughs.

“Iris, it was the best date of my life. Even with her hair all wet and mascara running down her face, she looked totally gorgeous.”

“I hope you told her that,” Caitlin says. “Because I think that’s the only thing that could have saved your date.”

“I did. She threw a fry at me and told me I was being corny. But…But it was true. And the whole time we were sitting there, even with the rain and the bad food and the fact that she had to report back to base in, like, three hours, the only thing I could think was that I had this beautiful woman here with me. Laughing at my jokes and being into me.”

Iris gives him a slow smile and squeezes his hand. “I can see why she loved you so much, pretty boy.”

“Thanks. And even now, even though she’s gone and it still – God, it still hurts sometimes, but some people never really get that, you know? I mean, Bette loved me and agreed to marry me. We would have had a life together, and that’s a lot. Bette’s gone, and so is Ronnie, and Barry, maybe, but I have my work and you guys and I’m alive, so don’t you guys ever sometimes just feel…really lucky?”

There is silence as more horns sound, and then Caitlin nods. “I do.” She laughs, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I never thought about it, but it’s true. I do feel lucky.”

Iris laughs and then Eddie joins in. She rests her head on his shoulder and they keep looking at the boats. “Well, aren’t we the lucky ones?”

***

**Iris – August**

“So, Moira is dead.”

“That’s right.”

“But Malcolm Merlyn is alive.”

“Yeah.”

“And Thea’s dad.”

“Unfortunately.”

“And Sara ran off with an assassin who comes from the order who kidnapped, tortured and brainwashed her, but it’s okay because they’re lovers?”

“Yeah, that about sums it up. And Nyssa’s really nice, once you get past the stabby-stab part.”

Iris rubs her temple, the phone clutched in her other hand, and contemplates her third coffee of the day. “So, just another Wednesday in Star City.”

Felicity laughs. “Got that right. How’s Hal?”

“Sleeping on my couch and eating all my food. Which reminds me, whose idea was it to put me on Hal-watch this month? I need to know whose ass to kick.”

“Iris, if Hal spends any more time in the Foundry, Oliver was going to kill him. Or try, since that ring of his makes him freaking invincible. Besides, you found him.”

“ _We_ found him, and you couldn’t give me any warning? That asshole used his alien technology whatever to break into my apartment. When I walked in her was lying on my couch eating cookies and drinking whiskey – he almost gave me a heart attack! Hey, is Laurel still single?”

“Um,” Felicity says, surprised at the sudden change of subject, “yeah, I think so. Being an ADA and training to be a vigilante doesn’t really mean a lot of time’s left for dating. Why?”

“Hal keeps asking. You remember, when he first turned up, he kept-”

“Flirting with her? Yeah, it drove Oliver and Dig insane.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, but nothing like that, just because he’s got more game than them. And you’ve _seen_ Hal, right?”

“That I have,” Iris agrees. Hal Jordan is six feet of many candy, according to Felicity. And Sara. And Linda. And everyone, to be honest. “Well, good luck to Laurel, I say. She deserves it.”

“Speaking of flirting,” Felicity continues, “any idea what’s up with Linda and her secret boyfriend?”

“Nothing concrete yet, but I have my suspicions. Eddie and I are going with plan T.”

“Ooh, good one. Keep me posted.”

“I will – Shit, I have to call you back, Mason’s on the warpath.”

“Later, babydoll.”

“Bye pretty girl. Mase!” Iris says brightly, flipping her computer screen back to her notes about the Sun Dial Church case. “What’s up, boss?”

Mason scowls at her. “I want those notes by the end of the day, West.”

“Not a problem, I’m here to help.”

She keeps her helpful smile on her face until he leaves and then drops her phone into her bag. Her heart tightens a little when she sees the file in there – _Nora Allen/The Man in the Yellow Suit_ – but then she does what she always does. What she’s done for the past eight months.

She ignores it.

Instead, she gets up and walks over to Linda’s desk to ask her something. Linda is on her phone as well, texting, and when Iris taps her shoulder from behind she almost jumps out of her chair. “Jeez, Iris, you scared me.”

“Sorry,” Iris shrugs. “I called your name, but you were too busy texting Mr Mysterious to notice.”

“I am not texting Mr Mysterious,” she huffs, but two pink spots appear on her cheeks and she pockets her phone. “I was following up a lead. It’s very important in our profession to explore all avenues when looking at potential stories. Ahem, anyway, what do you want, ladybird? You need my help with something?”

“Not really,” she shrugs. “I’m leaving here in few minutes, I wanted to know whether you wanted to come see Barry with me.”

“It’s cool,” she replies. “I saw him yesterday. But I’ll see you at home, okay?”

Iris knows good and damn well that Linda will be seeing Mr Mysterious tonight (and she’s pretty sure she knows who it is, but she needs to meet with Eddie to speculate), but she’ll deal with that later. She swings by Jitters briefly and picks up some snacks and coffee, which Cisco is grateful for as soon as he sees her, making grabby hands when he spots the bag of treats. She laughs, taking off her jacket and putting on the hook, before going to sit next to Barry’s sleeping form.

“God bless you, Iris West,” he says through a mouthful of donuts. “I haven’t left this place all day – I think I’m losing it.”

“That’s why there’s a caramel mocha in there for you.”

“I love you.”

Iris laughs again, as she sets her stuff out. She still feels a little guilty around Cisco because of what she said (honestly, what kind of bitch accuses someone of purposefully murdering their friend?), but he has never brought it up again. This is normal for them, and they’ll continue the routine without needing to talk about it. She kisses Barry on the forehead and grabs his hand, resting her chin on his lower torso so she can talk to him. When she hears Cisco leave, she starts to talk.

“Hey, Bar, it’s me again. Sorry I didn’t come last week, things got a little heated in the Sun Dial Church case. You’ll be interested to know that none of the nuns are actually real nuns, and they had a breakdown in the middle of court. Eddie was texting me the whole way through opening statements.” She pauses, yawning, and strokes her thumb over his knuckles. “Oh, you know how I told you about Hal? Well, he’s staying with me now. Oliver’s sick of him, and he says the guy he’s looking for isn’t in Star City. Apparently his name is Sinestro, whatever the hell that means. And even though I like him, I don’t really want a crazed alien with mind control powers in Central City, so I hope he isn’t here.

“Your dad says hello. He’s doing great, by the way. I was thinking of applying for furlough for him again, since it’s been a while since he last saw you. I think we thought you’d be awake by now, but…Anyway, doesn’t matter. Your dad might come by again, which is cool. Um, what else? Oh, Malcolm Merlyn is alive and Sara is an assassin. Which is…Well, you’ll meet her. She’s really sweet, in spite of the assassin thing.”

She pauses and looks up at his face, young and smooth in rest, and continues. “I kind of wanted to ask you something. I know you can’t answer, but I think I just need to tell you, you know? Which may mean that I’m losing it, that I’m talking to my comatose boyfriend because I need him for advice, but here goes. So, I’m writing about Hal for my site – nothing major, just letting everyone know that the Green Lantern isn’t dangerous – but a part of me wants to be done. Like, it’s not even a glory thing, I’m just not sure I want to hide anymore.” She pauses and sighs. “But, you know, admitting who I am is a big step, and I’ve got so much going on, so maybe now’s not the best time. Right.”

She stays with him for a little while and then leaves, running into Dr Wells on the way out. He nods and smiles at her, his blue eyes calm and cool. Caitlin told her months ago that it is unlikely that he’ll ever walk again, but he keeps doing physical therapy to make sure his bones do not atrophy.

“Miss West,” he says in that quiet, almost-whisper of his. “I trust you had a pleasant visit.”

“I did, thanks,” she replies easily. “Always grateful to you guys, of course.”

“Well, we’re happy to do whatever we can to help. Have a nice evening.”

Iris walks home even though she’d usually get a taxi, since Linda has their car because she’s ‘working late’. A summer storm about a week ago ended the sweltering heat that had been building, and now it is the kind of night in August that Iris likes – the crisp, fresh kind that isn’t too cold but when you can tell that summer is about to turn to fall.

By her own judgement, Iris is doing much better. Admittedly, it isn’t hard to do better than walking around in denial, and then blistering anger, and then trying to make deals, and then wallowing in depression. She no longer cries herself to sleep every night, she doesn’t hate Dr Wells, and the sight of Barry in that bed only brings a little twinge in her chest. But she knows that there is one thing she’s not good at, the little file in her bag that she carries around with her but never reads. And then every time she sees Barry, she feels guilty about it.

But she also knows where she is heading next. It is a strange thing, grief. Some people would think that it’s like turning something on or off, like one day it’s there and the next it isn’t, but her mother’s death and Barry’s coma have taught her that it’s more like a deep scar – it will heal over time, but you’ll never forget it. And it comes in waves, too, because sometimes she’s fine and totally dealing with it, but then she’ll spiral into this dark place and remember words like _brain deficit_ and _muscle wastage_ and _permanent vegetative state_. She sighs as she walks up the stairs to her apartment. The last time that happened, she had a panic attack at work, Wally had to come and get her, and she had to take time off. She has to find something to head that off, because she’s not sure she can handle another dark period again.

“Oh my _God_ , Hal…” Iris sighs when she sees Hal lying on her couch in his boxers, reading something by the glow of his lantern ring. “Would you stop with the constant nakedness? I have a roommate!” Hal shrugs and gets up, affording her a lovely view of his sculpted chest and broad shoulders.

“Linda’s out with Mr Mysterious,” he says, and she stares at him.

“How do you know about that?”

“You and Eddie talk loud.” Iris rolls her eyes.

“Whatever. Did you get the groceries?”

“I did.”

“And how much of it did you eat?”

“Only half.”

Iris just laughs and heads into the kitchen for some leftover pasta. It is weird but not weird, having Hal in her life and for a temporary roommate. The first thing they did, of course, was get Oliver to meet them so they could question him and Laurel could do a lie-detector test on him. Once they determined that no, he wasn’t there to kill them, and could actually prove that he was looking for an alien entity called Sinestro (and no, it doesn’t make more sense when you ask more questions), Oliver decided to help, even though they were dealing with Deathstroke at the time and Oliver seems to have a constant migraine when it comes to Hal despite his obvious admiration of Oliver. Hal had been based in Coast City, explaining all the sightings about a green alien there, but he’s followed the trail to Star City and now Central City, and has promised to leave if he needs to go anywhere else. So now they have a superhero that looks like a model sleeping on their couch and eating their food.

But at least he cleans, which is something.

He follows her into the kitchen, pulling on a shirt. “Good day?”

“Pretty good. Wrote about some drug-dealing nuns, so all in a day’s work. You?”

“Killed some alien demons possessing innocent humans,” he says idly, picking through a cereal box. “Decent Monday, as Mondays go.”

Iris just laughs to herself, because honestly, that’s all you can do when you ask about Hal Jordan’s day. “Great, well – Wait, Hal, did you drink all my whiskey again?”

“I might have. I’m sorry!” he adds, seeing her face. “I was in desperate need of hard liquor!”

“You couldn’t drink the gin?”

“The gin is Linda’s, and I am afraid of Linda.”

Iris sighs and fixes him with a stare. “I am going to eat this pasta. I will then have a drink of water. You have fifteen minutes to get me more whiskey, Harold, or I am telling Laurel that you took a vow of celibacy.”

“Okay, I’m going!” he says. “You know, Oliver was never this bad when I stole his liquor.”

“Oliver didn’t notice when you stole his liquor, did he?”

“…maybe not. Later!”

Iris sighs and makes her way to her room, still eating, and eyes the folder. The truth is that she needs that liquor for what she’s about to do next.

She knows that she could have looked at Barry’s mom’s case earlier than this. And she knows that she should have. It’s just been too hard to do it without him, not because there’s information she needs, but because she needs him. She needs his warmth and comfort and support, because she’s always had it, and she doesn’t know whether she can do this without it.

But Iris eats her dinner and then takes a shot of whiskey (and locks it in her room, because honestly, Hal Jordan), and opens up the file. She has read through her own notes, the ones detailing where she’s likely to start and what precautions she’ll need to take and whether there’ll be more interviews. And it isn’t that bad, it is a straightforward case, and even though Barry has said he’s been searching for years she’s confident that she can have a breakthrough. In fact, when she’s halfway through, she’s in a good mood. So she isn’t expecting it.

Oh, she should have been. Barry warned her, after all. He warned her about the psychiatric evaluations, and the being made fun of, and being put in the hospital. But she still isn’t prepared. First there’s the evaluations from when he’s a child, when they talk about how there must be something wrong with him and that they may have to employ ‘other methods’ to get him to ‘see sense’. She wants to reach into these reports, into the past, and throttle them, because it gets worse. Barry told her that he eventually just started lying to get them to leave him alone, and she sees it when the doctors decide he doesn’t need more meetings, and there’ll be no drugs, and he won’t have to be committed.

She keeps reading, her hand over her mouth, and she forgets that there are hospital reports in here as well, the ones from when he was a teenager, and the tears leak out of her eyes when she sees the damage written out in detail – the broken ribs, the concussion, the headaches that plagued him for months afterward. And there is one common detail, one common denominator that threads through all the explanations.

No one has ever believed Barry Allen.

It’s in the interviews that she reads, the debriefs with the police, and the reports from the doctors. Nobody ever believed Barry, from when he was a child to when he was in high school, and that was why he was the way he was when he met her. Iris has long forgiven him for his behaviour just before they got together, but now, seeing the evidence in front of her, she has no idea how he was ever strong enough to tell her. She knows for a fact that _she_ wouldn’t have.

Iris closes that part of the report and gets to work. She makes a list of the sightings – five total in the last few years, including the time Barry saw him as a child and the time Iris saw him as a teenager – and whether she can get in contact with them. She categorises the Man in the Yellow Suit (which she abbreviates) as a metahuman, the name Dr Wells gave to Everyman when they first saw him, and then makes a list of things that happened as a direct result of Nora’s death, needing to establish motive. She works diligently through the night, but her thoughts always come back to one thing, and it surprises her. Because she’s thinking of how many people were like Barry.

How many, like him, never had anyone to believe them.

Who had to endure life being told they were crazy, maybe finding some solace in Iris’ blog, but then having to endure people thinking they loved a conspiracy theorist. Maybe she has given them some confidence, sure, but at the end of the day, _she_ is the one hiding behind a name while getting all the benefits of being a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, while they’re the ones being made fun of.

Iris goes to bed eventually, despite the noises of Hal watching Real Housewives of Orange County and Linda coming back from her date, still thinking. And by the time she wakes up, she’s made her decision, and it just might be the worst idea she’s ever had.

She’s going to tell the world she’s True North.

***

“That was hilarious,” Patty says at Jitters the next day, sipping her coffee. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a nun swear so much.”

“I can’t believe I have to report on that,” Iris laughs. “Annie and I have to write an article that’s almost completely redacted. You okay, pretty boy?”

Eddie, who is staring into his coffee, looks up at her. “They put the cocaine _in_ the pandas. Like…who does that?”

Iris pats Eddie on the head, and Linda snorts and takes a bite of her bagel. “Don’t remind me. I’m still upset that none of you got us any as souvenirs.”

They are gathered in Jitters for their lunch break, having just left the courthouse after a full morning on the case. Annie has already gone back to CCPN; Iris and Linda will be joining them in a few minutes, while Eddie and Patty will go back to the precinct.

“Jesse is so confused, poor thing,” Patty continues. “Her first day, the whole lab was filled with stuffed animals. Bet they didn’t teach her that in CSI school.”

“Eh, she’ll get the hang of it,” Iris says. “Especially if she’s living in this city, what with shapeshifters running around.”

“And that green alien guy,” Patty adds. “Did you guys hear about him? He was around the liquor store on Third yesterday.”

Iris smiles and reminds herself to murder Hal when she gets back home. “Yeah, I’ve heard of him. No idea what he wants though.”

“Lin, get off your phone,” Eddie says in a bored voice. They all look at Linda, who scowls at him.

“Make me.”

“Jeez, aren’t you ever going to tell us who he is?” Iris needles her. “We won’t make fun, we swear.”

“I’m not telling any of you anything.”

“Come on, Lin, if you’re going to ruin the pact, I at least have to know who it’s for.”

Patty frowns. “Pact?”

“Linda and Iris have a pact,” Eddie says. “If neither of them are married by forty, they’ll marry each other.”

“There was going to be a caveat,” Iris adds, “that we were going to kill Eddie and take his kids, but we figured we’d just get sperm donors cause we’re pretty.”

Patty laughs. “Seriously? I didn’t you two would be the ones with the pact.”

“Really?” Eddie asks.

“Yeah, I thought it would be you and Iris.”

Eddie and Iris look at each other for exactly two seconds before their faces twist in disgust. “ _Ewwwww_.”

“That’s never going to happen,” Iris tells her. “Believe me.”

“Sorry, it’s just that you guys are so close, and you have all those nicknames for each other-”

“Oh, I know that,” Eddie says. “It’s understandable how you got there. But Iris is way too high-maintenance.” She stares at him.

“ _I’m_ high-maintenance? Don’t give me that bullshit, I know how much your hair appointments cost.”

“And I know how long yours take!”

“Says the guy who gets his eyebrows shaped!”

“That happened _once_!”

“You see,” Linda deadpans, “why I’d like to break the pact.”

“Shut up,” Eddie and Iris say, and then glare at each other. Iris sighs.

“Look, it would just be too weird,” she shrugs. “Eddie’s like my brother – it would be like me dating Wally.”

“Or Linda dating Wally,” Eddie adds. “Just weird. Iris and Linda can get married, they’re the only two who will be able to stand each other.”

Patty just laughs again. “You guys are hilarious.”

“And our divorce would be hysterical,” Eddie adds, draining his coffee. “Come on, Hot Pursuit, let’s go.”

Iris eyes Linda after they leave – she’s suddenly very interested in her bagel, so she sends a quick text to Eddie.

_Nice job. Theory confirmed._

**_Thanks. Keep me posted._ **

“Hey, Lin,” she says, scooting across from her. “I have to tell you something.”

“Please let it be that Hal’s moving out,” she says. “He ate all the bagels this morning!”

“No, not yet,” she laughs. She looks down at her twisting fingers. “So I was…working on a case for Barry-”

“For his mom,” Linda says quietly.

“Right. And it got me thinking, with me being True North, maybe I should…tell people. That it’s me.”

Linda stares at her. “You want to tell people you’re True North?”

Iris bites her lip and nods. “Y-Yeah, I think so. I mean, Mason was saying that more people would believe in her – me – if people knew she was a real person. And I keep thinking about what it would have been like for Barry if he could just say that he had someone, like, a real person, who believed in him. Maybe his life would have been better.”

Linda looks at her for a moment and shakes her head, smiling. “That Barry Allen is one lucky asshole. He’s going to float away on a goddamn cloud when he wakes up.”

Iris gives her a small smile. “So, you think it’s a good idea?”

“I think it’s fucking crazy, but also amazing, and I one hundred percent support you. How are you gonna go about it?”

Iris smiles gratefully at her best friend, a weight lifted from her chest. “Well, first of all I have to make sure that I don’t get in trouble legally, so I need to talk to Laurel, but I don’t think there’s much to worry about on that front. Then I need to make sure none of the criminals come after me, so I’ll need to talk to Oliver and my dad. I just need to figure out how to announce it.”

Linda smirks, her light brown eyes sparkling. “Leave that to me, ladybird.”

***

As always, whenever Iris West and Linda Park got an idea, things move very quickly after that.

Iris goes back to work and texts Felicity her plans, who messages her back immediately with a lot of emojis.

**YOU’RE GOING TO TELL THE WORLD YOU’RE TRUE NORTH?!**

_That’s the plan_

**BECAUSE YOU DON’T WANT PEOPLE TO SUFFER LIKE BARRY DID?!**

_Pretty much…_

**WHY ARE YOU TWO SO CUUUUUUUUUTE**

_Felicity, I kind of need to talk to Laurel…_

**It’s cool, just send Hal over and he can get Laurel there by the end of the day**

**EEEEEE**

**You guys are my OTP**

_You need to stop watching Gossip Girl reruns_

Iris crosses that off her list and moves skips the next item – how she’s going to tell everyone. Because whenever she asks Linda what her idea is, her best friend just laughs and tells her to wait and see. Telling her dad and Wally and Eddie is entertaining simply because her father threatens to shoot anyone who hurts her, and Wally is upset that he’s the last to know. But then when Joe asks him to reveal his secret girlfriend, Wally gets all huffy and mysterious and concedes that maybe he has a big mouth and that’s why Iris never told him, but he says they still need to tell him more stuff. She makes a note to let him meet Hal Jordan to make up for it. She’s still on the fence about Cisco and Caitlin but then she realises how much they’ve done for Barry and what they’ve come to mean to her, so she decides to tell them before she reveals it.

Iris smiles when Laurel and Hal slide into the seat across from her at Jitters a few days later. Hal grabs a roll from the plate in front of her, ignoring her irritated look.

“Hi, Iris,” he says through a mouthful of bread. “I got Laurel for you.”

“No, he flew me here after he told me that we were getting the train,” she corrects him, fixing her hair. “I thought I was going to be sick.”

“Come on, pretty bird, it was fun!”

“Don’t try to suck up to me now, I am _this close_ to hitting you with my tonfas.”

Hal wiggles his eyebrows. “Who says that would be bad thing?”

Iris looks between the two of them. “Do you guys want me to leave, or…”

“No,” Laurel says quickly. She glances briefly at Hal, who’s balancing a roll on his nose. “Get me a medium cappuccino, asshole.”

“Anything for you, pretty bird.”

Iris watches as he walks off. “He’s so… _Hal_.”

“Right? Okay, let’s get started, I have to go meet my mom and give her Sara’s message.”

“What’s the message?”

“’Still alive’, basically. Okay, so I’ve looked at all your cases and your files, and there’s nothing you’ve done here that has even broken any state laws, let alone federal ones. Since you’ve helped Gotham, Star and Central City police departments, they’re less likely to want to do anything to do. Just tell the truth, and you should be fine.”

Iris gives her a surprised look. “Really? That’s it?”

Laurel grins. “That’s it. Look, hun, I’ve already agreed to be your lawyer, and I’m pretty badass, if I do say so myself. If you have any problems, you can go ahead and call me.”

“Great! Thanks, Laurel.”

“And I’ll visit Barry before I go. How is he?”

Iris shrugs lightly, mustering up a smile. “The same.”

“He’ll wake up soon, Iris,” she assures her. “My sister and my ex-boyfriend both ‘died’ on a desert island, and we broke into a drug den last week. Miracles happen.”

“That’s the hope. So, how’s vigilante training going?”

“Good,” she admits. “Oliver threw me out of a moving van last week, which was fun.”

“See, this is why I never do anything with Oliver. We have very different definitions of the word ‘fun’.”

“You get used to it. But he’s actually tied up with Queen Consolidated stuff – Ray Palmer wants to buy it. And,” she adds, “he’s kind of interested in Felicity.”

Iris’ eyes widen. “You’re kidding!” Laurel laughs.

“They were in a meeting last week and they didn’t say much, but I know jealous Oliver when I see it, and believe me, Ray’s interested.”

“This’ll be fun.”

“I’ll say,” she laughs, glancing at her watch and looking around. “And here comes Harold with my cappuccino. I’d better leave so he doesn’t start flirting with me again.”

“Yeah, that way you’d have to pretend you’re not enjoying it,” Iris says, sipping her coffee. Laurel rolls her eyes.

“Whatever, West. Good luck.”

Hal sits back down after he gives Laurel her coffee and immediately starts into the mountain of food he’s ordered. Iris stares at him in disbelief.

“How are you not fat?”

“Lantern powers, stunning physique, and a brilliant exercise regimen?” he tries.

“You literally spend all day on my couch.”

“…God did not see fit to bless me with anything less than a perfect metabolism to complement my pack of physical flaws.” He ducks out of the way of the paper towel she throws at him. “So, ladybird, what are you up to?”

“Well, I have to go to work because Linda’s telling me what her great plan is for the big reveal, and then I guess I’ll go see Barry, if I have time.”

Hal nods, his features uncharacteristically pensive. “Are you going back to the cave?”

Iris stares at him. “The cave?”

“Yeah. When you grieve someone or something, you go to the cave, and it’s where you feel the most hopeless. And then eventually, you get out of the cave, and everything’s fine, but eventually something may trigger you to go back there. My guess is that you can feel yourself slipping. You’re going back to the cave.”

She blinks – he’s just summed up her feelings in twenty seconds and three bites of a donut. “I – how do you know that?”

He points at himself. “Not just a pretty face.”

“Well, you’re right,” she sighs. “I keep finding new ways to keep me out of-”

“The cave.”

“Right, but I’m worried that it’s always going to be like this. Like this cycle of happy and sad, hopeful and depressed, and it’s too much.”

“Hey, I get that. And I get why you’re doing this, I get the whole ‘I need to redeem myself for my loved one’ thing. Did I ever tell you about my girlfriend?”

“The Great Hal Jordan only had one?”

He shrugs, smiling, but Iris can recognise the pain in his eyes. Maybe it’s a permanent club they’re now part of. “Only one that mattered. Carol Ferris, my boss at Ferris Air. She kicked my ass every day that I worked there, so I fell in love with her, of course. And then things got…complicated.”

“Complicated?”

“Well, she got recruited by my enemies, and I got possessed by an alien demon, it was a whole big thing. But the point is, I messed up, big time, and she’s gone. Not dead, but…Well, what I’m doing now, finding Sinestro? That will go a long way to getting her back.” He pauses. “But Iris, it might not work. I know that. And I know this might not be what you want to hear, but it’s true.”

“So, what do you do?”

“I have a little trick. Doesn’t always work, but you can try it. At the end of the day, I let everything go, find some quiet spot, and list all the things that happened. And if there are more good things than bad things, then I say ‘today has been okay’. If not? Well, try to make the next day better.”

Iris sits back and regards her new friend. “You are full of surprises, Harold Jordan. It’s a shame I can’t write about you; I’ve always wanted to be someone’s Lois Lane.”

“Here’s hoping you will be.”

***

Linda wants Mason to interview her. Iris almost throws up.

“No, it’s great!” Linda assures her after Iris spits out her coffee. “Mason’s a pro, and that way you can control what gets said and what doesn’t. Mason’s probably one of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, but if he’s got True North on his team, he’s not going to want to alienate you.”

Iris bites her lip and glances into her boss’ office. “I don’t want to control what’s said,” she says slowly. “Let him ask what he wants, within reason. This isn’t about hiding, Lin. It’s not even really about me. It’s about stepping out from a mask for the people who always believed in me.”

Linda nods, impressed. “Well, I guess I’ve got my answer. You want to tell him together?”

“…where’s the emergency tequila?”

To his credit, Mason only blinks a few times in surprise when they tell him. He chews his pain, staring at her. “So you want to reveal you’re True North on live television.”

“Yeah.”

“With me interviewing you.”

“Right.”

“Are you on drugs?”

“ _Mase_!” Linda splutters, but Iris shakes her head.

“It’s okay, Lin.” She turns back to Mason. “You said that it would help people if they could see that True North was a real person. And what better person than someone who won a Pulitzer?”

“That’s a big step, West. And it’ll be hard.”

Iris raises her chin, thinking of Barry. “It’ll be worth it.” And Mason actually smiles at her.

“Okay, West. Park, get that intern you just promoted. The one who’s always really eager.”

“Steph?”

“Whatever.”

The interview is the following week, and Iris is seated in a chair while the cameras are being set up. The people she works with have mostly stopped staring, but she still catches the odd glance while she twists her fingers in her lap. She told them all a few hours ago, to get them ready for the interview, and because they had started to promote the reveal of True North last week. She’s already gotten five texts from Felicity, a call from Eddie and Wally, and Hal sent her a basket of muffins (except he ate three of them). Lin walks up to her, fluffing her hair.

“Don’t mess that up,” she tells her. “Malorie spent an hour on it.”

“Been there,” Lin laughs. “Ready, ladybird?”

“I’m about to throw up. But thanks for coming to talk to me.”

“You? I am here to support my intern, Miss West.”

“Right. How’s Steph, anyway? I thought she was supposed to be here before me.”

“She’ll be here in a sec,” she says. “Okay, so when you’re interviewing, look at Mase or Steph. Sit up straight, and don’t talk too fast. You’ll do great.”

“Right,” Iris nods. “Am I doing the right thing, Lin?”

“I think so.”

“Okay, you’re on.”

Mason and Steph appear then, seating themselves on the other side of the table from her. Steph is shaking a little so Iris gives her an encouraging smile, and when she notices that her own hands are shaking Mason clears his throat and gestures for them to pause.

“You got this, West?”

“Yes sir.”

“Okay…Ladies and gentlemen, this is Mason Bridge and Stephanie Taylor of Central City Picture News. We are joined by our very own Iris West, who has decided to reveal her identity of True North to the world. Miss West, how are you?”

“I’m good,” she replies easily. “Slightly nervous, but that’s to be expected.”

“Of course,” he says. “Now, to recap, you’ve had a pretty impressive run. Over the past ten years, you have proven several conspiracy theories, helped police with countless cases, and compiled an extensive list of extraordinary happenings in Central City, Star City, and Gotham City. All the while building your own journalism career.”

“Our question,” Steph continues smoothly, and Iris sees Linda beam with pride out of the corner of her eye, “is why now? What made you reveal yourself?”

And Iris was worried about this interview, she really was, but when Steph asks her that question it becomes really simple. She looks at Linda, who’s giving her a thumbs up, of Eddie and Wally and her dad, of all her people in Star City, of Dawn and Harley and Kyle and everyone, and most of all Barry, the people who have been behind her for entire laugh, and it’s suddenly clear.

Everything just becomes so goddamn _simple_.

“That’s easy,” she replies, smiling. “I’ve had a great run because of all the support I got. The only reason I’m here is because they believed in me, so this is me thanking them for that.” She shrugs. “I may be the one called True North, but all the people who support me? They’re mine.”

And she feels a little ember glow inside her.

***

“So, I may have done a really dumb thing today. I don’t know. If you were here, you might have been able to talk me out of it. I kind of told everyone that I’m True North.”

Barry doesn’t respond, of course, but Iris doesn’t need him to – she just needs to bounce her nervous energy off. The interview aired a few hours ago and then Mason told her to take the rest of the day off as questions, tweets and phone calls started coming in. She’s ignoring them, since she said all she wanted to say. The interview was a success, she thinks, even though her Great-Aunt Esther told her that her posture was terrible (but she was very proud), and Kyle called and left a message to congratulate her. Iris simply said she intended to keep her job at CCPN, anything legal could be directed through her lawyer, and she had no intention of stopping her work looking for the impossible.

“Although I may have to find a new medium,” she’d laughed, “because I checked my blog a minute ago and it crashed.”

But she is happy, like a weight has lifted or like she’s stepped out from behind a veil or a mask. And now she is telling Barry.

“You should have seen the messages I got,” she continues, stroking his hair. “I think I may need to get a PR person. Wally is totally milking this, by the way, being the sister of a famous blogger. I think this is better for his social life than it is mine.” She pauses. “I hope you know why I did this, Barry. I’m going to find who killed your mom, I promise, whether you wake up or n-not. But I just wanted to make sure that no one went through what you went through, and to let you know how brave you make me. I hope you know and…” she sniffles, crying now. “I hope you’re p-proud of me. I love you.”

Iris goes to hold his hand, and then frowns when she sees a spark of electricity from his ring finger to hers. She blinks, confused, because that’s never happened before. Barry’s still asleep, silent and peaceful, and she shrugs. She’ll ask Caitlin about it later. For now, though – now she is just content to sit there with Barry in this space. Iris ignores all the calls and thinks about how her life will change, what this means for her, and how she’s going to move forward. And she is like that until Linda calls.

“Lin?” she asks. “What’s up?”

“Good news or bad news?”

“Um. Good?”

“Okay,” she breathes. “The interview was a success. Seriously, everyone wants to run it, and our servers and social media crashed. People want to talk to you-”

“Tell them no,” she says quickly. “I said all I wanted to say, Linda.”

“I figured. So anyway, it’s cool, we’re trending, Mason’s calling Cat Grant and showing off, and then – bad news.”

“What?”

“The Joker escaped. Took over every news cycle there is.”

Iris claps a hand over her mouth and tries, she really does, but a gurgle of laughter escapes her and then she can’t stop. “Oh God. Lin, that’s hilarious.”

“Are you sure?”

“I told you I wasn’t doing this for publicity.”

“Okay,” she laughs. “Then I can tell Mase to stop panicking. Hey, I’ll see you at home, okay?”

“Sure.”

Iris hangs up and looks around, suddenly itching to move. Caitlin and Cisco left her alone with Barry, as they usually do, but she knows they’ll be here if something happens. She walks quickly outside and doesn’t stop until she’s at the bay, looking out at the still, calm water as the wind sings over it. That’s when she remembers Hal’s words, and makes the list in her head.

_I faced my biggest fear today._

_Everyone supported me._

_I still get to keep my job._

_My boss respects me._

_I am not in the cave._

But:

_I don’t know what will happen next._

_Barry still isn’t awake._

_The world is still scary, no matter how many impossible things I can prove._

But the first list is longer than the second, so Iris West takes a deep breath and says it, to the world, to the wind, to herself, and prays that she can get through another day:

“Today has been okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so that was the last chapter with barry in the coma, so i hope you liked everyone's POVs and all the fun stuff i introduced. let me know what you think ;)


	24. City of Heroes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Barry has missed a LOT.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for how long this took, i had some stuff to wrap up. there may be some typos, and for that i apologise. Disclaimer: dialogue taken from 2014 episode of The Flash: Pilot. All credit goes to the writers of that episode.

 

It was a strange sensation, waking up.

First, Barry hadn’t even realised that he was asleep, so sitting bolt upright in bed to awake to flashing lights was very disorientating. Second, he kept hearing the lyrics from _Poker Face_ , and he was certain he wasn’t listening to that. And third, he was firmly aware that he had to tell Iris that he was okay, and he had no idea why.

Weird.

“Where am I?” he gasped, and he was immediately accosted by lots of beeping. That was when he saw Caitlin and Cisco, and he blinked in surprise again. What was he doing here?

And why was he half naked and covered in electrodes?

“Whoa!” Cisco said.

“He’s up,” Caitlin said swiftly, grabbed a medical penlight, and started shoving it in his eyes. He squirmed, trying to get away from her, but that was hard because of the electrodes and the whole ‘not knowing where the fuck he was’ thing.

“Dr Wells,” Cisco said into the intercom, “get down to the Cortex, like, _right now_.”

“…pulse 120,” Caitlin was muttering. “Pupils, equally reactive to light. Look at me. Barry, _look at me_.”

“Hey, Barry, relax,” Cisco said quickly, because Barry had chosen that moment to get out of bed. Only he couldn’t walk – he couldn’t even stand up straight, and everything felt like it was starting to spin. “Dude, relax. You’re at STAR Labs.”

“STAR Labs?” Barry said groggily. “Why?

“I need you to urinate in this,” Caitlin continued, all business, holding a cup in her hands.

“ _Caitlin_!” Barry and Cisco said together. Cisco took it away from her.

“Not this second!” he told her. “Jeez, let the guy adjust first.”

“Wait, what’s happening?” Barry interjected. “What’s going on?”

“You were struck by lightning, dude!”

Barry blinked at him and turned, convinced that whatever was going on was just a really bad joke – maybe he’d gotten hammered on whiskey or something – until he turned and saw his own chest on video. “Lightning…gave me abs?”

“Your muscles should be atrophied, but instead they’re in a chronic and unexplained state of cellular regeneration,” Caitlin informed him, poking and prodding his body. Cisco rolled his eyes.

“Come here, have a seat,” he said, pulling Barry back onto the bed. “Look, there’s no easy way to say this, so I’m gonna just say it, I mean, I’ll try, but-”

“Cisco,” Caitlin sighs.

“You were in a coma.”

Barry’s eyes widen in shock. “For how long?”

“Nine months,” a voice said, and then Barry got the biggest shock of his life when he saw that Dr Wells was in a wheelchair. He nodded, that enigmatic smile playing on his features. “Welcome back, Mr Allen.”

“Dr Wells,” he stammered. “I – what happened to you?”

“You and I have a lot to discuss.”

They told him, then, in little bits what happened. The Particle Accelerator exploded, Dr Wells said, and collided with the storm that had already been brewing when he and Iris were heading to CCPD to pick up the files. There had been an anomaly, he said, with the ring underneath them popped after the electrons became unstable.

“…energy from that detonation was thrown into the sky,” Dr Wells continued with a rueful sigh, “that, in turn, seeded a storm cloud…”

“That created a lightning bolt,” Barry finished, “that struck me.”

“I was…recovering myself when I heard about what happened to you, in between dealing with all the lawsuits, that is, when Caitlin and Cisco informed me about what was happening to you. The hospital was undergoing unexplainable power outages every time _you_ were going into cardiac arrest, which was actually a misdiagnosis because, you see, you weren’t flatlining. Your heartbeat was going too fast for the EKG to register it.”

Barry took all of this in as they walked back to the Cortex, trying to come to terms with the fact that he had been gone for so long. Dr Wells continued, putting his glasses back on. “I’m not the most popular person in town these days, but your father and Miss West – after some persuasion from your friends here – agreed to let you come here, where we were able to stabilise you.”

All other thoughts raced out of his head at the mention of her name, and he felt his heartbeat start to quicken. “Iris? Is she okay? She didn’t get struck by lightning too, did she?” Dr Wells tipped his head to one side.

“Miss West is perfectly fine. She came to see you…quite often.”

“Every day,” Caitlin corrected. “Pretty much. I’m grateful that she talks so much, she made looking after you a lot more fun.”

“Also, she brought coffee,” Cisco added.

But Barry was miles away, already reunited with Iris. He looked towards the door. “I have to go.”

“Wait, Barry,” Dr Wells said. “We have to do more tests – we have no idea how else the lightning could have affected you. There could be damage to your nervous system, your brain…

“Yeah, dude,” Cisco added. “You might not even be the same Barry!”

“Yeah, I get that, I do,” Barry said, hunting around for his keys. “But I have to go see Iris – if I’ve been in a coma for nine months, I mean, she must be worried sick-”

“Oh, he’s still the same Barry,” Caitlin interrupted, laughing. She looked at a few of the monitors. “He doesn’t seem to have anything wrong with him that I can see, so I guess he can come back later.” Barry smiled gratefully at her.

“Thanks, Caitlin. Do you have any idea where Iris might be?”

“Well, it’s Tuesday, so she’ll be at work. If you run, you might be able to catch her in time for lunch.”

“Great!” he said. “Really, I feel fine. Thank you, all of you, so much.”

Barry ran off, and then doubled back. “Uh, can I keep the sweatshirt?” Dr Wells nodded.

“Yeah, you can keep the sweatshirt.”

“Oh, yeah,” Cisco said after Barry had run off again. “Still the same Barry.”

***

Despite the fact that it often found her writing about depraved criminals and insane sociopaths, especially when she was in Gotham, Iris loved her job. It was fun and exciting and fulfilling, especially on days like today, when everyone was running around trying to keep up with the Sun Dial Church case, or the spate of robberies on Regent Street, or the Joker still being loose with a new sidekick. It made everything feel much more alive.

That didn’t mean it wasn’t exhausting as _fuck_ sometimes.

“Iris West,” she said into her phone. She was also reading some of the reports that Eddie sent her, and instructing Annie on how to round out her article on the new spending measures on the local high school. She listened, the phone tucked between her shoulder and ear. “Of course, Mayor Bellows is always a priority here at CCPN, we’ll send someone over as soon as we can.”

She hung up and cleared her throat. “Okay, who’s got this Friday afternoon free?”

“I do,” Chris said. Iris nodded.

“Not anymore, you don’t. Mayor’s Office want someone over there to do a piece for him on the new water tower.”

“Great,” he replied, and then looked at her. Behind him, Linda was taking something from Mason before disappearing into the photocopying room, almost running into Tess as she walked out of it. “Uh, Iris-”

“Chris,” she interrupted, still rifling, “what did we say?”

“True North questions after hours,” he said. “I know.”

Iris looked up at him and smiled. It had been almost a month since her reveal, and while the Joker’s escape had done a lot to pull focus from her, she was still getting recognition from it. Her co-workers had largely gotten over it, though they did still ask questions. And Iris didn’t mind, really, since her reason for doing it had been Barry, and it had been worth it. She’d gotten countless messages of thanks from people who were grateful that she had revealed herself, and that she was so reputable and respected that her claims held more weight. It helped that she had assisted police departments as well.

“After work,” she promised. “You can pick my brain to your heart’s content. Within reason,” she added, and he laughed.

“Thanks, Iris.”

“No problem…Iris West. No, I’m not retracting it. It’s not slander if it’s true. Of course I have proof, what do you think I am, an amateur? Well, Mr Britt, if you have a problem, you can take it up with our legal team.” She paused and pressed the phone to her chest, glancing at Todd. “We have a legal team, right?”

“Yup.”

“Take it up with our legal team,” she continued into the phone. “I look forward to it. Oh!” Iris stared at the phone as Karl Britt called her a series of expletives before hanging up. She looked at Annie. “Don’t you just _love_ Tuesdays?”

“They’re the best.” At that moment, the people who’d been at the press conference that the CCPD was holding came back in, letting in the cold air. Iris turned away from the door, back to Annie.

“Uh-huh. So, like I was saying, you want to make sure it’s as clear as possible. People don’t like doing homework when they’re reading the news, they like having all the info right in front of them.”

Annie nodded. “Thanks, Iris.”

“Great, now – Shit,” she sighed as her phone started ringing again. Tess walked past her, laughing.

“Never ends, does it?”

“Seems like it,” she said ruefully. “Iris West.”

“Turn around.”

The world seemed to right itself.

Iris froze, hardly daring to breathe, before putting the phone down and turning around.

 _Barry_.

He was there, standing in the middle of CCPN with the widest, cutest, most Barry-like grin on his face, not taking his eyes from her even as he pocketed his phone. He looked so whole and healthy and perfect that she could hardly believe that he’d been comatose for the last nine months, and she was running across the room into his arms before she even knew what she was doing. “Oh my God, _oh my God_ , you – you’re awake!”

He grinned into her shoulder, squeezing her tight, before setting her down. She stepped back and checked him over, not caring that half the people in CCPN were staring at them. “Why didn’t Caitlin call? Or Cisco?”

“I just woke up,” he answered, smiling. “I came straight here, I wanted to surprise you. I thought you’d be worried.”

“Mase, this isn’t really the angle I was going for with this story,” Linda said as she came out of the copy room. “I was trying to – _Oh my God_!”

Barry grinned as Linda spotted him. “Hi, Linda.”

“Barry, you’re awake!” she gasped, racing to him and hugging him. Then she pulled back, eyes narrowed – and hit him in the shoulder.

“Where – the – _hell_ -” she said, punctuating each word with a smack.

“Ow, _Linda_ …”

“-do – you – get – off – scaring – us-”

“Iris,” Barry said helplessly, shielding himself. “Help!”

“Lin, quit it!” Iris tried to pull her best friend away, but she was surprisingly strong.

“-like – that – you – stupid – _nerd_?” Linda demanded. “We were so worried!”

“Uh,” Barry said, clutching his arm. “S-Sorry?”

Linda let out a frustrated groan and then hugged him again. “Good to see you too, Lin.”

“What’s with all the yelling?” Mason demanded, walking out of his office. He narrowed his eyes when he spotted Barry. “Harry, you’re awake.”

“It’s, uh, Barry, sir…Or Harry,” he added. “Harry is fine.”

“Hmph. Well, you have successfully distracted my entire newsroom, and now I doubt that Park or West will get anything done today, so all three of you – get out.”

Iris stared at him. “Mase-”

“You heard me,” he said. “Either the walking miracle will distract everyone, or I have to contend with the two of you smiling and gossiping all day. Go away.”

Iris and Linda shared a look. “Mason,” Linda said. “Are you being nice?”

“Of course not.”

“I think this merits a hug,” Iris says.

“I think it does.”

“What the-” Mason let out an irritated noise as Linda and Iris hug him around the middle. “Let go or you’re both fired.”

“You’re the best, Mase,” Linda said. “Here, let me run these by you first.” Iris turned back to Barry, who was rubbing his eyes.

“Should you be on your feet?”

“Iris, I’m okay,” he assured her. “It’s just a little weird, I guess.” Iris swallowed and gripped his arms tighter.

“I – I watched you die, Barry. You kept dying, your heart kept stopping…”

Barry nodded once and looked down, before taking gently her wrist and placing her hand on his chest. “It’s still beating,” he grinned at her.

Iris laughed as it thudded quickly beneath her fingers. “Yeah, it feels really fast – Shit, Chris, are you okay?”

Iris noticed that he had dropped some files, but he shook his head. “It’s okay, I’ve got it.”

She turned back to Barry, whose eyes were unfocused. She touched his cheek. “Bar? You okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Okay, well, let me get my stuff before Mason remembers he’s the gatekeeper for the seventh circle of hell. Eddie and Wally will be so happy to see you!”

Linda was texting as they walked to Jitters, probably because she didn’t want to see Barry and Iris making eyes at each other as they caught up. “So, what did I miss?”

“A _lot_ ,” Iris laughed. “Let’s see…Oh! Linda won a Pulitzer!”

“You did?” Barry asked. “Linda, that’s amazing! What was it for?”

Iris and Linda shared a confused look before their faces cleared. “Of course, you weren’t there to see it. Um, they aired my interview with Tommy Holland just before Christmas, so I won the award for the written article.”

“Well, I know what I’m watching when I get back home,” he laughed. “What else?”

“The Sun Dial Church case is bananas,” Linda told him. “Seriously. I think Eddie said one of the nuns declared that she’d changed religion or something and that had to be taken into evidence.”

“Is that still going on?” Barry asked. “Jeez, I thought that’d be done by now. Hey, at least Jitters is the same.”

“Right,” Iris agreed as they walked in. Before they can say anything else, they hear a loud whoop.

“CSI the Dork!” Wally called, striding across the room. Barry grinned and hugged him, slapping him on the back. “You’re awake!”

“First time you see me in nine months, and that’s what you call me?”

“That’s your name, right? Why break with tradition?”

Barry rolled his eyes. “Well, can you get me coffee? Is that still the same?”

“Actually, I don’t work here anymore,” Wally said proudly. “I work at Queen Industries with Johnny Chambers.”

“No way! You’re working with Johnny Quick? What are you doing?”

“A generator, high-speed and lightweight, for cars-”

“Okay,” Linda interrupted. She held up her phone. “I have to go meet with a source, as fun as all this science talk is going to be. Barry, it’s great to see you. Iris, I’ll see you at home. Wally…I’ll see you.”

“See you,” they all said, and Linda strode off the way that they came in. Barry was looking at the menu and deciding which coffee to get, when Wally cleared his throat.

“You know, I really should be getting back to work as well,” he said, looking at his watch. “Barry, you and Cisco should come by some time, I think Johnny would really love to meet you. Later, sis.”

“Bye, dumbo,” she said, and Barry frowned as she watched Wally leave too.

“What’s with them?”

“What do you mean?” Iris said idly, studying the dessert menu.

“Well, I know I can be kind of boring, but they ran out of here like they were being chased.”

Iris ordered their coffee and then turned to him. Her face cleared. “Oh, you mean Wally and Linda? Yeah, it’s nothing. It’s just that they’re dating, and they think that we don’t know.”

Barry’s eyes widened. “Linda and Wally are dating? For how long?”

“A couple of months, I think. You want a cronut?”

“No, I’m good. Wait, who’s ‘us’?”

“Me, Dad, Eddie, Mason, probably…and now you.” She handed him his coffee with a smile and they left to go to the precinct.

“Why haven’t they told you? And why aren’t you telling them that you know?”

Iris sipped her coffee, not answering, and Barry gave her a look. “Iris.”

“They did it first!”

“You’re taking bets on when they’re going to tell you, aren’t you?”

“Barry, I’ve been waiting for this for years. Literally _years_. Besides, Wally and Linda made like, two hundred bucks from us, this is just me returning the favour.”

“Actually, Wally was disqualified,” Barry pointed out, remembering the ridiculous bet that their friends – and family, and colleagues, and bosses – had placed on them getting together last year. “Ronnie was happy about that, he got some of Wally’s winnings.”

Iris stopped as they entered the atrium. She hadn’t expected Caitlin to open with everything that had changed as soon as Barry woke up – and of course her adorable dork of a boyfriend had raced to CCPN to see her as soon as he was up – but it hadn’t occurred to her that Barry didn’t know that Bette was dead and Ronnie was legally dead because they hadn’t found a body. “Barry, about-”

“Allen! Is that you?”

Iris’ words died in her throat as she saw her father spot Barry and stride to him quickly, his arms open for a hug. All over the precinct, everyone stops and calls out. “Allen, you’re up!”

“Hi, Joe,” Barry grins, and hugs him.

“Aw, you scared the hell out of us, kid! You okay?”

Barry shrugged. “As good as I can be, I guess.”

“So nine months having a glorified nap,” a deep voice said, “and you _still_ look twelve.” Eddie pushed past all the people and hugged Barry as well. “Good to see you, Bar.”

“Eddie, you’re here,” Barry frowned. Eddie stared at him and Iris cleared her throat – Barry probably thought that Eddie would have married Bette and moved to Coast City by now.

“Yeah, he’s probably just come from a long day at court,” she said quickly. “I think we’re all having nightmares about pandas now.”

“Don’t remind me.”

“Allen!” Captain Singh calls from behind them all. “Back for two minutes and already disrupting the work day, I see?” Barry laughed nervously until he saw the captain was kidding. “You take your time getting back to work, okay?”

“Sure.”

Iris smiled in relief as they started talking again, telling them about how the Mardon brothers had died, but that was when Julie called Joe. “Hey, Joe?, we’ve got a 211 in progress at Central City Bank,” he says. “Possibly armed. Grab your gear, it’s looking like there’s a storm on the southside.”

Joe sighed and grabbed his jacket. “Sorry, guys, duty calls. Barry, you’re coming over for dinner, okay? Bye, baby.” He kissed Iris on the cheek and walked out, calling for Eddie to follow him. The detective paused in front of the two of them and grinned. “Did you tell him about-”

“Duh, I’m trying to get him in on the bet,” Iris interrupted. Eddie laughed.

“Yeah, and maybe I won’t lose two hundred dollars like I did with the two of you. Well I’ve gotta go, Joe will still kick my ass if I keep him waiting.”

Iris was about to start talking to Barry again – namely, to tell him how much he had missed when he was gone – when one of the cops called her over. “Iris, who’s the guy who needs the statement for the gold store robbery?”

Iris thought for a second and snapped her fingers. “Um, Todd. Here, I have his number…” She wrote it down, and then looked up when she heard a loud crash and then a criminal was being dragged away shouting, “Screw you!” And Barry looked like he had seen a ghost. She crossed back to him and touched him arm, concerned. “Hey, are you okay?”

“F-fine,” he said quickly. “I just – I should go back to Dr Wells. I rushed over to you without him really checking me out and I feel kind of weird.”

“Yeah, okay.” Iris looked up at him – he looked kind of freaked. “That sounds like a good idea, if you’re sure.”

“Great. I’ll call you tonight, alright?”

***

Barry stumbled into the hallway, the world shifting under his feet.

He had felt fine when he left STAR Labs, catching an Uber back to his – curiously clean – apartment to shower and get dressed so he could go and see Iris. He had felt an immediate pull towards her the minute he heard her name after he woke up, and when he saw her again it was like the world had been transformed from black and white to technicolor. He still felt a little unbalanced but he wanted to see Iris, so when she placed her hand over his heart and he felt the world slow, he didn’t think much of it.

But then they walked to Jitters and then the precinct, and he felt his heart was racing. He didn’t think of it until he saw that criminal try and escape, and then suddenly he had disarmed him and then was back across the room in a second, beyond freaked. Now he was stumbling around this alleyway, wondering what the hell was wrong with him. He shot forward suddenly into a car and a shower of glass burst onto the floor. He brought his hand up to his face, and it vibrated faster than his eyes could follow.

“W-What’s happening to me?”

Barry looked down at his feet, feeling that sudden urge to move pulse through him with every beat of his heart. Barry looked up and down the alley way and ran.

The world sped past him in blurs of concrete, the wind ripping at his face, and he whooped in excitement. Every nerve in his body was on fire, his blood was singing, his muscles were buzzing. He was moving faster than humanely possible. This was impossible. _He_ was impossible.

All of this came to a rather abrupt end, however, when he landed face-first in a laundry van. He sat up amongst the quilts and pillows as the driver pulled them off him, grinning. “Awesome,” he breathed. The driver looked at him and groaned.

“Damn kids, smoking pot at all hours of the day…”

***

Iris sat at her desk at work, flipping her pen in her hands. She still couldn’t shake the immeasurable relief that Barry was awake, and it was making the shitload of work she had to do that much more appealing. The fact that Barry was alive and awake and walking around in front of her was like having some fundamental piece of herself back, and now everything felt right again. So much so that she didn’t mind going back to work for the rest of the day, especially because Barry was going back to STAR Labs to get himself checked out. She did love that he came right over to see her, but she didn’t want him to over-exert himself after having just come out of a coma.

Linda, she saw, was apparently making use of the fact that Mason had been in a rare good mood to give them both the rest of the day off, since she wasn’t here. She was probably off with Wally. Iris didn’t mind that her best friend was dating her brother – she and Eddie had predicted it years ago – but she was secretly waiting for them to tell her in their own time to keep the pressure off.

“West! Didn’t I tell you to go away?”

“Yeah, but I’m fine,” she said placating. “I have a lot of work to do, and besides, I’ve left my heart at home. Promise.”

He looked at her for a moment, and then shrugged. “Good. Follow me.”

Iris frowned as he led her to his office. She ran her mind through some of her stories, mentally checking that she’d used reputable sources. He sat down at his desk and put his feet on the table, studying her. “What do you intend to do with your blog?”

“My blog?”

“Yes, Iris, your blog. The thing that broke our Twitter last month.”

Iris blinked. In all honestly, between work and worrying about Barry and everything, she hadn’t thought about it. Her blog was still mostly messages about her revealing who she was – she didn’t think she’d had any tips in weeks. If she had, they were lost among all the congratulatory messages and fanmail. “Uh, I’m not sure.”

“Well, because I have an idea. I think we can use your blog and the fact that it’s so popular to investigate strange goings on in _this_ city. With the paper behind it, it gives it more authority. And I want a couple of the reporters here to help you.”

She tipped her head to one side. “Seriously?”

“Seriously,” Mason nodded. “Chris and Annie are due for a promotion, and since Larkin retired we have a larger staff budget. Plus, they’ve been bothering me about all of these weird cases that they’ve seen.”

“Oh yeah? What brought that on?”

Mason fished in his desk and handed her four large pictures for her to study. It looked like some people running away from a storm cloud. “What am I looking at?”

“The Cartier store on Regent Street was robbed a few days ago.” Iris nodded – her dad had been called to that one but they hadn’t been able to find the culprit. “That’s apparently a picture of the guy who did it. They’re saying he can control the weather.”

“…control the weather?” Iris repeated. “Are you kidding? Is this like the time you told the interns that we have fancy-dress parties and Chris came in wearing a sombrero?”

“That was funny.”

“We’re lucky he has a sense of humour.”

Mason laughed. “No, Iris, I’m not kidding. And this isn’t the first time I’ve heard anything like this, either – there have been more and more reports of this kind of thing over the last few weeks. We’re the town’s biggest source for news; we need to stay on top of this.”

Iris touched the pictures lightly. She had to admit that her interest was piqued, but she wasn’t sure about training other reporters to do what it had taken her almost ten years to learn. “I’ll think about it,” she promised. She made to leave, stopped, and then grabbed the pictures. “Uh. I’m just gonna…take these. Research purposes.”

She ignored Mason’s knowing smile as she left, shutting the door behind her as she crossed back to her desk. And she tried very hard to pretend like she was thinking about it, when in reality she had already decided yes.

***

Barry was regretting coming back to STAR Labs, mainly because he was now wearing a bright red, very tight, and extremely ridiculous costume that rubbed in some uncomfortable places. He heard Cisco knock on the truck. “How does it fit?”

“It’s…a little snug,” he admitted, stepping out of it. Cisco laughed.

“Well, at least you’ll be moving so fast no one will see you.”

Barry made a noise in agreement and tried to make sure nothing chafed as he followed Cisco. His revelation that he was moving faster than humanely possible was something he took to Dr Wells, and while he and Cisco were optimistic and confident on testing his abilities, Caitlin was a little more skeptical. He had, in fact, wondered about why she was so subdued and had even asked Cisco where Ronnie was, but his friend had pretended not to hear him and then they’d all come out here. He was happy, at least, that they were in Ferris Airfield in Coast City, because then at least at he had space to run without landing in laundry trucks.

“Okay,” Cisco said. “Dr Wells will be monitoring your energy output, and Caitlin your vitals. Hey, you okay?”

Barry shook his head slightly. “Yeah, sorry. It’s just weird, seeing him in a wheelchair. What are you going to do?”

“I make the toys – same as always,” he replied, grinning. He held up a little circular device with a lightning bolt running through it. “ _This_ is a two-way headset with a camera that I modified, typically used to combat battlefield impulse noise, or in your case, sonic booms, which would be awesome!”

Caitlin walked over to them then, giving them a small smile as she looked at Barry’s suit and pressed some buttons on her iPad. She glanced up at him. “What?”

“Nothing,” he said. “You’re just kind of quiet. You okay?”

“Just a little…cold. Dr Wells, he’s ready!”

Dr Wells nodded and looked at Barry as he fitted the goggles on his face. “Mr Allen,” he said evenly. “While I am eager to test the full extent of your abilities, I do caution restraint.”

Barry looked at him for a second. Restraint. Yeah, that was a thing that was definitely going to happen. With the way that his muscles wanted to jump out of his body, he didn’t know how much restraint any of them would get. But he nodded again and knelt at the starting post. He smiled a little when he realized that Iris had once again failed in her quest to see him run track – and she was explicitly glad because then she wouldn’t see him in this stupid outfit. And – there it was again, that pulsing, jumpy feeling, as soon as he’d though of Iris laughing at him trying to run in this suit. It felt like lightning was thundering through him, except that this time his body could handle it. He savoured it for a moment, and then concentrated on the horizon.

And he ran.

It was much, much more intense than before, the wind flying at him and hitting his skin. Everything moved past him in an indecipherable blur – the only things he could see were snippers of the blue sky, the glare of the sun somewhere above him, and the black of the tarmac, all melting together in a speed-induced haze. He felt himself increasing and new he would have gone on for miles, probably, but then – but then all of this movement, and then he was back in his childhood home, watching red and yellow lightning swirl around her. The Man in Yellow flashed in front of him, the sound of the wind ripping through the living room like a howling demon. Then Barry was in the present, not paying attention, and then he crashed into a bunch of water containers, the liquid exploding into the air. Once the shock wore off, he realised that his wrist was bent oddly and felt like it was on fire.

Eventually they realised that he was in pain and drove him back to STAR Labs, though the drive took them a while, so Caitlin gave him a sedative. He woke up in the medbay, still in that outfit, but thankfully they’d left him his clothes and a STAR Labs T-Shirt to change into. Oddly, though, his wrist wasn’t hurting anymore – but he put that down to the painkillers she’d given him. When he wandered back into the Cortex, they were all looking at each other. “What?”

Caitlin beckoned him over to sit, and showed him an X-Ray of his wrist. “Barry, you appear to have a distal radius fracture,” she explained, clicking the screen. He frowned.

“Had?”

“It’s gone. In three hours.”

“Three hours? But a fracture like that should have taken-”

“Weeks,” she finished. “I know.”

“Why is it happening?”

She shared a look with the others again. “I… _We_ , don’t know.” Dr Wells cleared his throat, wheeling forward and removing his glasses.

“You were doing quite well, Mr Allen,” he said quietly. “You were maintaining very high speeds, your body was reacting and adapting as normal and then – what? What caused such a sudden, and _painful_ , halt?”

Barry paused, his mouth working, and looked at Caitlin and Cisco. They knew about his mother being murdered and his father going to prison for it, but Dr Wells didn’t. And none of them knew how brutal it was, how much it had scarred him to carry it around this long. But this was Dr Wells, who had always welcomed him and calmed him and told him how invaluable he was to this project even though he was only a volunteer. So he explained, in halting terms, about that night, though he wished he had Iris’ comforting presence there with him. She had messaged him a few minutes ago, saying that she had something important to tell him and to call so they could meet outside Jitters. He’d responded in kind, since he wanted to tell her about this new impossible _thing_ that had happened to him.

“So, when I was running, I guess it reminded me of that,” he finished. “My dad is still sitting in Iron Heights for her murder. Everyone, the cops, the shrink, they all told me what I saw was impossible. But what if the man who killed my mom was like me?”

“Well, I think I can say unequivocally you are one of a kind,” Dr Wells said slowly. Cisco nodded.

“Yeah, and if you want advice on the impossible, you should really ask Iris.” Barry frowned. For a moment he was dumbstruck – he knew that Linda and Felicity knew about Iris being True North, but to his knowledge she hadn’t told anyone else.

“Iris? What are you talking about?”

Caitlin, seeming to note his confusion, shook her head. “Forget about it. We’ll figure out what’s up with you, Barry, don’t worry.”

“Okay,” he sighed. He watched as Caitlin started packing up her stuff. “I have to meet her anyway, so I guess I’ll see you guys later. Hey, where’s Ronnie? I haven’t seen him, is he at home?”

Barry should have known it from the way froze, from the way Cisco looked at her, from Dr Wells’ soft sigh. She left without a word and Dr Wells nodded at Barry before following her. Barry looked at Cisco, confused, who rubbed the back of his neck. “You know, you should _really_ go talk with Iris.”

***

Iris finished up her notes from Eddie’s recounting of the court case and put her stuff away, watching him slurp his milkshake. “You’re so annoying.”

“So are you. I don’t know why I hang out with you.”

“Because we both like Linda.”

“Because we’re both _afraid_ of Linda. Is she still on her date with Wally?”

“Duh,” Iris snorted. She bit into a cookie. “Why do you think I’m avoiding our apartment? I don’t want to come back and see them making out on the couch. Besides, I have to meet…someone.”

Eddie gave her a look. “Iris.”

“Mm?”

“You can say his name. I’m not going to fall apart.”

Iris sighed. She knew, of course, that Eddie was nothing but thrilled that Barry was back, but Iris knew that he was also thinking of Bette, who was not coming back no matter how hard they wished. Eddie gave her a small, sad smile and she reached across the table to hug him. As they broke apart, they saw Barry approaching, a pensive expression on his face. “Hey, guys.”

“Barry?” Eddie frowned. “You look really freaked, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just had a really…weird time at STAR Labs,” he replied. “But I’m fine. And I actually need to talk to you, Iris.”

“Yeah, I need to talk to you, too,” she told him. And it was true. Because in the time since Mason had given her those pictures, she’d been obsessively googling all the weird cases that had apparently been going on for the last few months. And iris figured that if she was going to be doing that full-time, she needed to tell Barry that she had told the world she was True North – especially if she started going out with her knuckledusters in the daytime. Barry nodded.

“Sure. Hey, Eddie, how’s Bette? Did she go back already?”

Eddie paled and Iris’ heart twisted. “That’s, uh…I’ll see you at work, Barry.”

As he walked away quickly, Barry ran a hand through his hair. “Okay, that’s the second time that’s happened today, what’s going on?”

Iris sighed and stood, linking her fingers through his. “Let’s go for a walk, Bar.” She led him away from the town centre and the bustle of people as they were leaving work and explained to him, as best she could without crying, what had happened after the Particle Accelerator explosion and the events that had unfolded since. She told him about Dr Wells’ injuries and the subsequent lawsuits, about Cisco and Caitlin being forced to testify, everyone leaving, Bette’s death, Ronnie being declared legally dead, and all the settlements. As she expected, he was most upset about the death of his friends.

“Ronnie and Bette-” he swallowed. “They’re dead? Both of them are dead?”

“Well, Ronnie is technically still missing,” Iris explained quietly. “Because we never actually found a body. And Bette – well, apparently her…injuries were pretty bad, so Eddie never got to see her body, and General Eiling was the one who made the identification. It was a nice funeral, even though it was closed-casket.”

Barry frowned briefly. There was something about that, about the fact that Eiling was involved, that he didn’t like. But nine months in a coma had apparently worsened his memory, since he couldn’t for the life of him figure out what it was.

“And Oliver’s mom? She died too?”

“Yeah, they’ve had it pretty bad too,” Iris admitted. “But Laurel’s sister is back, which is…interesting.”

Barry rubbed his face as they came to a stop. “I just can’t believe I’ve missed so much. What about you?”

“What about me?”

“How were you during the whole thing? I guess it was…hard, me being struck by lightning.”

Iris hesitated. She didn’t want to worry him or make him feel guilty, especially because she was still ashamed of how she acted. The walking around like a zombie, yelling at Cisco and Caitlin, all the anger, and then the crying, and then the nothingness, then more crying…Iris didn’t want him to know that she’d pretty much fallen apart when he was gone. “…I was fine. You know, it was hard, but, um, I had people so…Anyway, what did you want to tell me?”

Barry studied her for a minute and she cursed the fact he knew her well enough to know that she was lying. But he didn’t push, only clasping his hands together. “Well, I was feeling a little weird, so I went back to STAR Labs and I talked to Cisco and Caitlin-”

Iris was watching him speak, and right at that moment he turned his head slightly to the left. And she didn’t know how it happened, but the next thing she knew she was on the ground, completely disoriented, and Barry was nowhere to be found. Further down the street, a car was speeding away, enveloped in thickly growing fog.

“…Barry?”

***

Barry didn’t think, he just ran.

His first instinct was to shove Iris out of the way out the incoming cars, and then time slowed down and he gasped when he saw the figure in the car – and recognised him. It was Clyde Mardon, who he’d helped Joe catch last year and who, according to Eddie, had died in the explosion. But now here he was, probably in a stolen car that he’d almost crashed into him and Iris.

Without thinking, Barry raced after the car and threw himself into it, spraying the both of them with glass. When Mardon realised what was going on, he reached for a gun and – since Barry didn’t think he wanted to test out his new powers with a bullet in him – he reached out and wrenched the steering wheel away from him. The car flipped twice in the air before crashing upside-down on the side of the road.

“Shit,” Barry groaned as he dragged himself through the windshield across concrete and broken glass. He looked up to see the scrawny blonde man striding away through the carnage.

“Hey! _Mardon_!”

Barry froze and scrambled to his feet when Clyde locked eyes with him. As he watched, his held his hands out to his side and then clenched. He frowned…until he noticed the fog enveloping them both. It snuck around them in tendrils, clouding his vision, and Mardon had completely disappeared within seconds. Barry stepped forward, but then a car horn blared and he threw himself out of the way and turned, watching the car crash into the other one and explode.

***

Eddie, to his credit, came immediately after Iris called him, and her father arrived a few minutes later. He hadn’t been far so he’d simply turned around, and now they were by the ambulance taking the victim’s statement before he was taken to a hospital. She almost collapsed in relief when she saw Barry come back around the corner and spotted.

“Bar – Barry, what happened?” she demanded. Her eyes widened when she saw his forehead. “Barry, you’re _bleeding_ -”

“Iris, did you see that?” He wasn’t paying attention, only throwing looks down the street as the police cordoned off the place. “That fog, it came out of nowhere, and then I couldn’t see anything.”

“Neither could I. Barry, are you sure you’re alright? You’re shaking.”

“Barry? Iris!” Joe called as he strode up to them. “One day, and the two of you are already getting into trouble? Are you alright?”

“Fine,” Barry said quickly, waving a hand. “Joe, I thought you said Clyde Mardon was dead, that he died in the explosion?”

Joe frowned. “He did die, Barry. What are you talking about?”

“I saw him, Joe, he was there in the car, and then he disappeared…” Barry trailed off, disappointed. “You don’t believe me.”

“I mean, Barry, I saw him crash,” Joe said, sharing a look with Iris. “The plane exploded, and there was no trace of anything left.”

“Barry, I think you may have hit your head, or something,” Iris said. She was surprised when he nodded, but his eyes were still blazing with confusion and something else she couldn’t name.

“Yeah. Yeah, maybe. I’m gonna go back to STAR Labs, I need to talk to Dr Wells about something.”

Iris frowned as she watched him leave, just as Eddie came back. “Where’s Barry going?”

“Back to STAR Labs.”

“Should we be worried?”

Joe sighed. “I don’t think so. I mean, he was in a coma for nine months, he’s bound to be a little screwed up. What you got there?”

Eddie showed them a sketch of a man in a cap. “Eyewitness account of who was in the car. You’re not going to believe this, Joe, it’s-”

“Clyde Mardon,” he finished. “I’ll be damned. Barry was right.”

“Apparently,” Eddie said, looking at his notebook, “he was controlling the weather. Witnesses reported him causing fog to spread all over the causeway.”

Iris started. “Controlling the weather? Are you sure?”

“Well, have you ever seen fog come on so fast?”

Iris’ heart was racing. “No, I haven’t. Uh, I have to go. I, um, forgot something at work.” She spun around quickly and walked away, fishing for her phone and hoping that Mason’s slave-driver tendencies meant that he and at least a couple of the interns were still at work even though the workday was technically over. Meanwhile, Joe and Eddie were staring at each other.

“We should be worried now, right?” Eddie asked.

“Yeah,” Joe answered. “We should be worried.”

***

“I wasn’t the only one affected by the Particle Accelerator explosion, was it?”

Barry burst into the Cortex to find Dr Wells sitting at the main computer terminal, his expression guarded. Barry didn’t really blame him, since he was so mad he couldn’t see straight. Not only had he learned that Bette and Ronnie and countless other people had _died_ because of this, but now there were others like him that were putting innocent people in danger. “We don’t know for sure.”

Caitlin and Cisco walked in right then, and Barry’s face fell. “Caitlin, I-”

“Iris told me she told you. It’s okay, Barry.”

“No, it isn’t!” He turned back to Dr Wells. “You said the city, was safe, that there was no residual danger – but that’s not true, so what really happened that night?”

“Well, Barry you were there. The accelerator went active, we all felt like heroes, and then…the interdimensional barrier ruptured, despite the efforts of myself, Dr Snow, Mr Ramon and Mr Raymond, releasing unknown entities into our world, anti-matter, dark energy, ‘x’ elements-”

“Those are all theoretical,” Barry interrupted. Dr Wells didn’t miss a beat.

“And how theoretical are _you_?”

Barry didn’t have an answer for that. He watched as little yellow dots appeared on a map of Central City as Dr Wells explained that they were a map of the dispersion of the matter as it spread and enlarged. “We have no way of knowing exactly what – or who – was exposed. We’ve been searching for other…metahumans.”

“Metahumans,” Barry repeated. “Like what you named Everyman when he was exposed.”

“Yes, it would appear that our previous attempt at turning on the Accelerator was a mere blip compared to this. It appears that this was always on the cards.”

“On the cards? Have you lost your mind?” Barry snapped. “I saw one today, he’s a bank robber, and he can control the weather.”

Cisco grinned. “Aw, this just keeps getting cooler and cooler!”

“This isn’t cool, Cisco! A man died. Iris and I _almost got hit by a car_. They got their powers the same way I did – from the storm cloud, and he’s still out there! We have to stop him before he hurts anyone else!”

“Barry,” Dr Wells called as he turned to go. Barry whipped back, eyes alight. “That is a job for the police.”

“I work for the police.”

“As a forensic assistant.”

Barry let out a frustrated breath while his friends watched helplessly. “You’re responsible for this. For _him_ -”

“ _What’s important is YOU_! Not me. I lost everything. I lost my company, I lost my reputation, I lost my _freedom_ …and then you broke your arm and it healed in three hours. Inside your body – could be a map to a whole new world. Genetic therapies, vaccines, medicines, treasures buried deep within your cells and we cannot risk everything because you want to go out and play hero!” He paused, his voice quieting. “You’re not a hero. You’re just a young man who was struck by lightning.”

Barry barely glanced at them before he left. Left and ran, like he always did, letting everything pass him by as he sped through the city. It was like all he ever seemed to do was run – from his mother being killed, from the police as he fought to see her lifeless and bloody body, and from everything that fought to tell him that he was wrong, that his father was guilty. _But he couldn’t outrun it_. It was always the same, always running, always _running_ …

No. It wasn’t the same. Not anymore.

Now he had Iris, and she was something to run toward to.

He skidded to a stop and kind of laughed in surprise when he realised he was almost in Star City. He paused, catching his breath, and got out his phone to send her a text.

Can we talk?

_Sure. I need to talk to you anyway. Where?_

Central City Suspension, by the bakery

_Um_

_I’m kind of in the bakery_

_Wanted a brownie_

_Or three_

Barry just grinned and raced over to the street, looking around before he saw Iris strolling out of the store. Her smile was kind of apprehensive, for some reason, and he realised why when he saw that her eyes floated up to where he had been bleeding from the head. “You okay?”

“Better. But I have to tell you something, and it’s important.”

“Do you mind if I go first?”

Barry smiled, nodding in agreement. This might be the one time in the world he was going to amaze Iris West, so he didn’t mind going second. Iris took a deep breath and led them over to a park bench.

“So, um…while you were in the coma, I was doing a lot of thinking. About your mom’s case, I mean. And I was looking into what I was going to do next-”

“My mom’s case?” Barry interrupted. “Iris, you didn’t have to do that by yourself.”

“I know,” she shrugged lightly. “But I wanted to. And I saw the – police reports, and the psychiatric reports, and the, ahem, hospital reports-”

“Crap,” he sighed, rubbing his eyes. “You weren’t supposed to see those, Iris, they’re pretty…bad.”

Iris glanced at her hands, twisting them in her lap. “Yeah, but Barry, I wasn’t the one who went through that. And I thought of how alone you must have been, during all the time when no one believed you. And I know you’re going to say you had me,” she added when he opened his mouth, “and that’s cool. But I couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if you had someone who was proud to come out and say that they were finding these impossible things. Someone you could actually see. So, a few weeks ago I went on the news and I…told everyone that I’m True North.”

Barry stared at her, dumbstruck. “You told everyone? Are you serious?”

She nodded, biting her lip. “Yeah.”

“Because of…me?”

She nodded again silently and he loosed a breath. The world – the whole _world_ – knew that she was True North. A secret that Iris had kept since she was a teenager, that she didn’t even tell her father or Eddie or Wally, was out. And all because she had seen Barry’s pain and didn’t want to see anyone go through anything like what he’d through. No wonder he’d fallen in love with her.

“Barry? You haven’t said anything for a minute, are you okay?”

“Yeah, but are _you_ okay? That was a big step.”

“I’m okay with it. I mean, Mason was kind of upset, because the Joker breaking out kind of stole our thunder.”

“The Joker got out?”

“Long story. But you’re okay with it?”

Barry pulled her into a hug. “Of course I am! And I’m proud of you.”

“Great,” she smiled, letting out a breath. “That’s a load of my back. Anyway, what did you want to-”

They were interrupted by Iris’ stomach rumbling and Barry had an idea. He pulled her to her feet. “Hungry?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe.”

“Okay, uh… Who has the best pizza on the west coast?

“Coast City,” Iris replied immediately. “Duh, everyone knows that. Why?”

“Remember that. Texas BBQ, right?”

“Sure, Bar – _oh my God_!”

Barry grinned as he reappeared in front of Iris with a steaming hot pizza box in his hand within three seconds, in exactly the same place as he’d been before. She peered at him, and then the pizza, and then at him, her hands flying to her mouth. “Barry, what the hell? _How did you do that_?”

“The Particle Accelerator had some weird effects, it-”

“Made you fast? You’re _fast_ now?”

“Yeah,” he grinned, setting down the box. “Pretty cool, huh?”

“It’s amazing! You went all the way to _Coast City_ in a _second_ , holy shit! Wait.” Iris stopped. “Is that how you ran after Mardon? You had superspeed back then?”

“I think so,” he said, more subdued now at the thought of the man who had died. “I didn’t really fully understand what was going on, but Dr Wells the dark matter that was released into the atmosphere affected me.” Iris narrowed her eyes slightly at that, but Barry spoke next.

“And I tried to save him, the guy who died, but I wasn’t fast enough. When I got back, Dr Wells said I should stop trying to be a hero.” He didn’t do particularly well at keeping the bitterness out of his voice. “Maybe he’s right – maybe I’m just a guy who got struck by lightning-”

“Barry,” Iris interrupted. She took his chin in her hand and made her face him. “Listen to me. This thing you can do? It’s incredible. Don’t let anyone else ever tell you different, you understand? I believe you can be a hero, I believe you can do whatever you want – but only if that’s what _you_ want to do, and that’s because of your heart, Barry, not because of a lightning strike.”

Barry nodded. “Okay.”

“But,” Iris continued, “we’re lucky we have our very own vigilante that we can ask for advice. I’m sure Oliver will be happy to talk to you. We can go see him this weekend, if you want…”

“Or,” Barry suggested, “we can see him now.”

Iris considered this, studying his slim frame. “You sure?”

“Of course. I’m fast now.”

“Hmph. Don’t forget the pizza.”

The verdict, Iris said, was that they could do that whenever they wanted, except that Iris couldn’t eat beforehand and she had to bring a hairbrush.

“I just got this done,” she explained after he’d set her down and gone back to retrieve the pizza, “but _oh my God,_ Barry!”

He grinned down at her again. They were outside Verdant, Oliver’s nightclub and, given it was still early evening, it was largely empty apart from people taking supplies to the back. Barry rang the buzzer and turned back to her, all ready to go on about what new discoveries they could make with his speed and what they could do, but he didn’t get the chance to. Because that was the moment Iris grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him down for a kiss. And Barry Allen remembered that as good as it felt being able to run at the speed of light, there was nothing quite like the feeling of kissing Iris West.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him, sighing when she wrapped her arms around his neck. They probably would have stayed like that, kissing and kissing like there was no one else around, if Felicity hadn’t chosen that moment to open the door.

“Oh my God!” she gasped, once they’d broken apart in surprise, “Barry! _You’re awake_!”

“Hi,” he said brightly, tearing his gaze away from Iris. “Yeah, I’m awake.”

She leapt at him and hugged him, and Iris laughed. “Are you okay? Is there any nerve damage?” Instead of waiting for an answer, she hit him.

“Ow!”

“Guess not.”

“Is Oliver around?” Iris asked. “Barry kind of needs to talk to him.”

“He’s on the roof,” Felicity answered, rolling her eyes. “Brooding. Or thinking. Or both, whatever.”

“Great, thanks,” Barry said, and she turned to Iris.

“Sara’s here, by the way, but she has to leave soon, so you should come talk to her.”

“Awesome,” Iris said, and Felicity frowned at the pizza as she picked it up.

“How is that still warm?” Barry and Iris shared a look.

“Long story.”

***

“…and then I came here,” Barry finished, shoving his hands in his pockets. “You know me, Oliver, I’ve spent my whole life searching for the impossible. I just never thought I would _become_ the impossible.”

Oliver, decked out in his Arrow costume, turned, his figure half in shadow on the roof. Barry, though serious, wondered how Oliver Queen was always in shadows everywhere he went.

“So why come to me?” he asked evenly. “Something tells me you didn’t just run six hundred miles to say hi to a friend.”

Barry swallowed, rubbing his neck. The memory of the car flipping over and killing the man inside was burned onto the backs of his eyelids – he supposed that it would never truly leave. “I screwed up. I was chasing the bad guy and... someone died.”

“If you do this, you’re going to make mistakes. I have. But the good you do will far outweigh the bad.”

“How do you know? What if Wells is right? What if I’m not a hero, what if I’m just a guy who was struck by lightning?”

“I don’t think that lightning bolt struck you, Barry. I think it chose you.”

Barry looked out into the night, watching the cars speed by – he was faster than those now. He could prevent an accident, if he knew how. He just wasn’t sure he could. “I’m just not sure I’m like you, Oliver. I don’t know if I can be some... vigilante.”

Oliver shook his head, coming to stand in front of him. “I know. You can be better. You can give people hope in a way I never could. Moving through your city like a guardian angel. You’ve got a good heart. Now you’ve got fast legs.”

Barry smiled and gave a soft laugh. “That’s what Iris said. She said I can be a hero because of my heart.”

“She’s a smart woman. Wait, you told Iris already?” Barry stared at him.

“Of course I told Iris. Can you imagine if I kept this from her? She’d scalp me.”

Oliver laughed and led them back towards the Foundry. “I don’t doubt that. Just take your own advice, Barry.”

“What?”

“Wear a mask.”

***

“This is so wrong.”

“I don’t see you looking away. Besides, you’re the one who said it was wrong to keep eavesdropping on Barry and Oliver.”

“So we can start looking at Hal?”

“Technically,” Laurel interrupted Iris and Felicity as they talked, “this is a communal space. We’re not really doing anything wrong.”

“And he,” Sara added, “is definitely doing anything wrong.”

Iris had to agree there. She was never going to love anyone the way she loved Barry, and she wasn’t going to be attracted to anyone the same way, either. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate that Hal Jordan was very good at that salmon ladder. Right now the four of them were pretending to talk about Laurel going back to work and training with Oliver, trying not to watch Hal as he made progress.

“So, anyway, I’ve picked a weapon,” Laurel continued, picking through her pasta. “Tonfas. Sara tried to get me into staff-wielding, but…”

“Laurel prefers her damage to be more hands-on,” Sara laughed. “Isn’t that right, pretty bird?”

“You’re just upset that I’m better at it than you, pretty bird.”

Iris smiled. “You guys are adorable, you know that?”

“Yeah, I was trying to come up with a cool superhero name for them,” Felicity said. “You know, the Lance sisters kicking ass is cool.”

“What about the Canaries?” Iris suggested. “That’s what everybody calls Sara.”

“Yeah, but I’m leaving soon,” Sara told her. “So it’ll just be Laurel.”

“Oh, we can figure that out later,” Laurel said, turning back to the ladder. “He’s on the comedown.”

As they watched Hal finish off Barry and Oliver walked back in, deep in conversation. Hal jumped off the ladder and grinned when he spotted Iris, as everyone was marveling over the fact that Barry was awake.

“Hey, Iris, what’s up?” He pulled her into a hug just as Barry walked up. He stared at him. “Who are you?” he demanded.

“Hal Jordan, who are you?”

“My boyfriend,” Iris said, squirming to get away from Hal. “Get off me, you asshole, you _stink_.” Hal smiled cheerfully at Barry.

“You must be Harry!”

“ _Barry_ ,” he corrected tightly. Beside him, Oliver’s jaw was clenched.

“Hal, could you not be so violent with the ladder? You could damage it.”

“Sure, Ollie,” Hal shrugged. “Although I really don’t understand what the big deal is, it’s not that hard.”

“Um, Hal?” Laurel interjected, seeing the vein in Oliver’s head start to throb. “You wanna go spar?”

“I mean, I just don’t get what you mean when-”

“ _Hal_ ,” everyone said. “ _Shut up_.”

***

“So, that was Hal,” Iris said as they walked through Central City. Barry had dropped them off on the outskirts of town and now they were walking around the town under a blanket of stars. Barry scrunched up his nose.

“He’s…interesting. You said he was an alien?”

“I said he was _looking_ for an alien. Sinestro.” Barry stared at her and she shrugged.

“Look, I don’t know what it is either, I’m just glad he’s not eating all of our food anymore. Oliver doesn’t like him.”

“I can see why. Does he hug you like that all the time?”

Iris shoved him playfully. “He’s harmless. If you ask me, he should be happy that there’s someone there to distract from all the potential drama. I think I was the only woman in there that hasn’t been involved with Oliver or _wants_ to be involved with Oliver. I don’t know how he deals with working with his exes.”

“You got that right,” Barry agreed. “There’s only one that I think I can stand talking to, and she’s from high school.”

“That’s Kara, right? Kara Danvers.”

“Uh-huh. The Vice President of the science club, because I like to aim high.”

“You guys must have been so cute, little science nerds.”

“Eh, you’re cuter,” he shrugged. “I wonder what she’s doing now, though? High school was a long time ago.”

“Living, I guess,” Iris answered. “So, how was your talk with Oliver?”

“Good, I think. I have an idea of how to stop Mardon, but I think we’ll need help.”

Iris stopped and started looking in her bag. “I kind of think I can help with that. What kind of help?”

‘Help’, as it turned out, was STAR Labs. Cisco and Caitlin were especially surprised to see Barry there after he had stormed out before, but once he apologized they were all too willing to help.

“I’ve been going over the news with my interns for the past few months,” she explained, laying out files, pictures and articles, “and there’s been a sharp increase in unexplainable deaths and disappearances since the accelerator exploded. Apparently Everyman was on the beginning.”

“Look, I know you guys,” Barry went on, “and I’m sorry about what I said before – I know you guys didn’t mean for it to happen. But it did, and I’m going to need your help to stop him, and anyone else like him.”

Cisco shared a look with Caitlin, and then a slow smile spread over his face. “I think I have something that might help.” He led them to his work area, where there was some sort of dark red costume on a platform – and it was much better than the one he’d been wearing. Iris frowned. “What is that?”

“This is something I’ve been working on for a few weeks. It’s a reinforced version of what firefighters are supposed to wear.” He paused. “I figured if we could do something nice for the community, everyone wouldn’t be so mad at Dr Wells.”

“Cisco, is this why you keep sneaking off at lunch?” Caitlin asked. “I thought you were binging Game of Thrones or something.”

“Well, it’s perfect,” Barry declared. “But how do we find Mardon?”

“Well, from what I’ve gathered his MO is always storm clouds and fog,” Iris explained. “Maybe you guys can see if there’s any unusual activity of that kind in the area?”

Caitlin nodded and walked over to the terminal. “Luckily for you, I can do just…that. Okay, I’ve tracked him to a small farm on the outskirts of town. The same one Joe tracked him to last year.”

“Great, let’s get you into the suit, big guy.” Barry frowned as Cisco steered him back to it. “Dude, I can get dressed myself.”

“Nuh-uh. This suit is my baby, I will not have you and your gangly limbs ripping it on its first outing.”

Barry thought that he looked much better in this suit than his other one, and the approving looks told him that everyone else thought so too. Caitlin looked up at him. “Hurry, Barry. The winds are already picking up, and I’m not sure he’s going to stop this time.”

He nodded and reached up to pull down his cowl, but Iris stopped him, taking her face in his hands, and kissed him on the forehead. Then she pulled his cowl down, giving him a small smile as he did so. “Go save the world, Barry.”

And he noticed that was the first time lightning followed him when he ran.

***

The tornado was already in full force when he got there, and Barry’s heart constricted when he saw and unconscious Eddie lying next to Joe, who was trying to wake him up. In the next second, the hood from a shattered car flew straight for him. Barry didn’t think – he sped towards it and knocked it off course, catching sight of Joe’s shocked face before facing the tornado as it spun uncontrollably towards the buildings.

“Barry,” Cisco said. “This thing’s getting closer. Wind speeds are two hundred miles per hour and increasing…If it keeps up, this could become an EF-5 tornado.”

“Well, how do I stop it? Guys?”

But there was only silence. Barry wracked his brains, trying to remember all of the physics lessons he’d had… “What if I unravel it?”

“How the hell are you going to do that?” Iris demanded.

“I’ll run around it in the opposite direction!” he realised. “Cut off its legs.”

“You’d have to clock 500 mph to do that,” Cisco said quietly.

“Your body may not be able to handle those speeds,” Caitlin said. “You’ll die.”

“Caitlin!”

“It’s okay, Iris. I just…I have to try.”

Barry raced off, seeing himself as a red blur as he twisted and wound around the tornado, becoming faster and faster. In his ear, Cisco gave a low whistle. “His suit’s holding up.”

Caitlin, though, was more subdued. “But he’s not.”

“Come on, Barry,” Iris whispered, to herself or to him or to God, he didn’t know. “Come on…”

So he ran and he was getting faster and he truly thought he could do it, but then – a stray wind laced with lightning whips out and hits him squarely in the chest, knocking him to the ground. He looked up, blinking rapidly, as the storm tornado grew stronger and wilder, expanding faster than he could see. He shook his head, his heart already pounding with shame at his failure. “It’s too strong.”

“No, Barry, you have you get up,” came Iris’ strong voice, laced with desperation – but he couldn’t, he’d let her down. He’d let them all down. But then…

“You can do this, Barry.”

“Dr Wells?”

His voice was passionate, remorseful, and focused. “You were right. I created this madness. But you can stop it. You are more than your speed. You can do this. Now run, Barry, _run_.”

Barry took off, feeling his skin, blood and nerves alight with lightning. He ran for all of them – for Iris, for the city, for all the people who had loved him and looked after him while he was in that coma. He ran because for the first time in his life, he had things to run toward, instead of away from.

“Barry, you’re doing it!” Iris said proudly. “It’s working!”

She was right, it was different now. He could see Mardon in amongst the wind and debris, and he looked like he was losing control. So Barry ran faster, relishing in the red blur and lightning that came out of him as the tornado grew weaker. Mardon’s shouts of pain spurred him on and he ran harder, not stopping until the tornado cut out in its entirelty.

He spun away from the shock of stopping, looking around in confusion as his mask slipped from his face, and saw Mardon looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and admiration. “I never knew there was anyone like me.”

“I’m not like you,” Barry said between gasps. “You’re a murderer.”

Mardon didn’t look too fazed by that. Barry saw him raise his gun and then heard two gunshots. Mardon collapsed and Barry looked around to see Joe, who collapsed next to him. “Barry? You okay, son?”

“Yeah,” he said softly. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

***

When Barry got back – after depositing both Joe and Eddie at the police station – Iris ran straight towards him and hugged him for a good minute, and when Cisco tried to pry her off him Caitlin said that if he took one step forward she was going to cut off his hand. When she finally let go and they got him out of the suit – and Caitlin insisted that he call her if he started to feel weird – they went home. So now Iris was fussing over him in his apartment, even though he really just wanted to curl up with her and go to sleep.

“Iris, I’m fine,” he said after she’d checked his temperature for the third time. “Really.” She gave him a stern look, but it was hard for him to take her seriously since she was wearing a Gotham City Rogues T-Shirt and shorts.

“Alright, fine,” she said. “But I have Caitlin on speed dial. Shoot, I left all my hair scarves at home. I’ll just-”

“Well, uh,” Barry interrupted, embarrassed, “actually, I have some, if you want.” Iris frowned at him.

“You have my hair scarves?

“No! I mean, yes. It’s…Well, when you told me about your hair, I thought there might be nights when you forgot to bring one when you stayed over. So I thought it would be a good idea to have spares. They’re in the bottom drawer under the sink.”

Iris bent and took them out wordlessly. There they were – five silk scarves of different patterns. Barry chuckled. “You should have seen the faces of the sales lady when I bought those, you know. I think she thought I was lost.”

She gave him a wordless smile, overwhelmed, and then there was a gust of wind and she was in bed with him, her back to his chest. “Okay, time for bed.”

“Barry, I can do it myself-”

“I want to,” he said stubbornly. “I learned especially, remember? Stop moving.”

So Iris sat obediently, laughing when he cursed in frustration, and was touched when she realised that he remembered exactly how to do it. She kissed him goodnight and then curled up next to him, sighing contentedly because the world finally felt like it was upright again, when she heard his soft voice.

“Iris?”

“Yes?”

“What’s going to happen? With this thing I can do. This…speed.”

She didn’t have an answer for that. The world had already proven itself a scary place, and even now with Barry’s amazing powers, he could have died going up against Mardon. “I don’t know,” Iris admitted. “But we’ll figure it out.”

“You think so?”

“We found each other, didn’t we? And most people would say that was impossible.”

“I think if there’s one thing I know about us, Iris West,” he told her, “it’s that we defy the impossible.”

“Corny dork.”

He laughed, and they fell asleep. And they had four hours.

Because that was when Barry’s phone started ringing shrilly on his bedside, pulling him out of a dream that involved everyone going to Disneyland and Mr Singh winning everyone stuffed animals. He grabbed it and answered it, careful not to disturb Iris’ sleeping form. “Yeah? Oliver, it’s me…do you know what time it is? Wait, Oliver, slow down. _Slow down_.”

“Barry?” Iris murmured groggily. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know, i…What? She _what_? Oh, God, where’s Laurel?..Yeah, she’s fine, she’s here with me. You want me to what? I can’t…Okay, I’ll ask her.”

Iris was staring at him, her large brown eyes worried, and he took a deep breath. “Iris, I need you to stay calm for me. Can you do that?”

“You’re scaring me, Barry,” she replied shakily. He sighed and took her hands.

“It’s…Sara. Laurel’s sister. Oliver said Laurel found her about an hour ago. She was shot with four arrows.” He paused. “I’m so sorry, Iris, Sara’s dead.”

***

Iris insisted that she was fine to go into work the next day, even though she was covered in this thin blanket of grief that was hard to navigate. She had only known Sara Lance for a few months, but there was something about the blonde woman’s warmth and heart and bravery in spite of all she had been through, not to mention how much brighter Laurel was when she was around, that was hard not to love. But she and Barry had agreed to go there this evening, and she’d called Felicity, and she had work. She did disappear to cry a little in the bathroom, but she was together.

Mostly.

Besides, she had this meeting with Mason to get through, and she was doing her best to be helpful for the interns. Annie and Chris were sat in chairs oppose from Mason, and Iris was standing behind him. He cleared his throat. “So, do you understand?”

“You want us to report on the weird stuf that’s been happening in the city,” Annie said. “With you, Iris. As a continuation of your blog.”

“And you want to train us,” Chris added. Iris nodded.

“That’s right. Full disclosure, it won’t be easy. There will be doors shut in your face, it’ll be dangerous, you may have to get creative. Within legal means, of course,” she added, seeing Mason’s face, “but it’s also very rewarding.”

“And, of course, you’d be learning from the resident expert,” Mason said. “What do you say?”

“I’m in,” Chris said immediately. Iris laughed, because she’d been expecting that, honestly.

“Annie?”

“Me too, I think” she said, a little more subdued. “Iris?”

“Yeah?”

“Will you show me how to use your knuckledusters?”

“Sure,” she laughed. Mason nodded.

“Okay, kids, get to work.”

“Mase,” Iris said. “Be honest. You didn’t pick me for this because I’m the best. You picked me because I’m the only one crazy enough to take this on.”

He grinned at her. “I always knew you were a smart hire, West.”

She was shaking her head in amusement when she left, nodding a hello to Linda as she walked past, and sat down. Annie was already there, her eyes bright. “I’ve already found buttloads of news, Iris. And this thing with the Red Streak-”

“Red Streak?” she interrupted. “What’s that?”

Annie handed her a picture and her heart swelled with pride when she recognised that it was Barry. “Thanks, Annie. This one’s all mine.”

***

Barry was still a little worried about Iris when he saw her off to work that morning, but he would talk to her afterwards. He was thinking about it as he walked to Iron Heights Prison, about how unfair it all was, that Ronnie and Bette were both gone, that Laurel had lost her sister again. But he was seeing his father, and he tried to concentrate on that. Henry grinned as Barry sat down and picked up the phone.

“Hey, slugger,” he said.

“Dad,” he smiled. “I’ve been worried about you.”

“You were the one in the coma. Are you doing okay?”

“I’m great, Dad, and don’t ask me how I know but... I know what happened to Mom now. I mean, I don’t know who killed her but I know how. And I’m going to find them and get you out of here.” Henry frowned.

“Barry, we’ve talked about this. You need to stop worrying about me. And live your life.”

“But that’s the thing, Dad,” he said shaking his head. “For so long I’ve felt like I’ve been running away from things, and I’ve missed out on a lot. But now I have you and my friends and Iris, and now I finally feel like I’m finally finding my way.” His smiled widened. “Don’t worry about me, Dad. I’m going to be just fine.”

Henry’s features melted into a proud smile, and he put his hands up to the glass. “I love you, son.”

Barry mirrored the gestured, tears coming out of his eyes. “I love you too, Dad.”

And even though there was still that pane of glass between them, and what had killed his mother was still impossible, he didn’t think he and his father had ever felt closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you all liked that! there'll be more stuff with team arrow to come, and of course more of barry and iris working as a team! (and don't worry, i haven't forgotten about their date)


	25. The New Normal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Barry and Iris get used to some changes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for how long it's been! i hope you guys like this. also, it makes reference to stuff that happened in chapters 5 and 8, but nothing big. enjoy!

Jitters now sold Krispy Kreme donuts. Eddie was still Joe’s partner. Hal Jordan kept showing up in his apartment even though he was pretty certain he never gave him a key.

Oh yeah. And now he could run at the speed of sound.

When Iris said that things were different, things were _different_.

Take now, for example. It was a Monday, and Barry was on his way to work. Except that, of course, he’d decided to take a little detour. A few detours, actually, given how fast he could move now. Later, someone would send a tip to Iris’ blog that would say a red blur was zipping through the city almost faster than the eye could see, and it was Barry. He was moving at three hundred and fifty-two miles per hour, and for him, that was a slow day. What a difference a year makes, right? Barry grinned as he ran, feeling the adrenaline course through his veins and the wind whistle against his suit.

“Barry?”

He could really get used to this, this whole speed thing.

“Barry…”

Especially if it meant saving people all the time. Not to mention going to Coast City to get his favourite pizza and to Gotham to get Iris’ favourite brownies.

“Barry!”

Cisco’s voice in his ear jolted him out of his daydreaming and he skidded to a stop in the middle of the street. “What?” he asks breathlessly. “Did I miss it?”

“You overshot by about six blocks, dude.”

“Damn,” he muttered, and turned around to head back to the fire. He and Cisco did this almost daily, since he’d woken up from the coma, and this was his fourth? Fifth fire. So it was easy to spot the smoke columns and zip people out of the burning apartment building before the fire department got there. He was too fast for the smoke to affect him, and he could move quickly enough that he wasn’t burned by the fire. His reward, though, was the smile of relief on a mother’s face when her child appeared miraculously in front of her. That made this whole thing worth it.

Barry sped away to the side of a building and removed his mask, grinning as he spoke into his headset. “Everyone’s out. What else you got for me, Cisco? Cisco?”

“Barry?” came a stern, female voice. “It’s Caitlin.”

Barry’s heart sank. See, they hadn’t gotten round to telling Caitlin yet. And by that he meant they’d been avoiding the topic altogether because they knew she’d get mad. He cleared his throat and tried for a cheerful tone. “Hey, Caitlin. How’s your day?”

“Pretty good,” she replied evenly. “How about you?”

“Oh, just on my way to work. You know what they say, crime never stops.”

“Aren’t you late?”

“Well, it’s…you know, with the whole superspeed thing, it’s kind of hard to be late…”

“Get back to STAR Labs,” she interrupted, and he knew they were busted. “ _Now_.”

He’d forgotten, probably with the coma and everything, just how scary it was when Caitlin got angry. Cisco sometimes called her ‘Dr Frost’ whenever she gave them that look, all icy rage behing those light brown eyes.

“Have you both lost your minds?” she demanded. “Who do you think you are?”

“Well,” Cisco replied, “I’m the eyes and ears, and he’s the feet.”

“This isn’t funny – you could have gotten yourself killed!” she snapped, striding towards the medbay where his vitals were on screens. “You can run around the city like some sort of supersonic fireman.”

“Actually, it’s not just fires,” Barry pointed out. “Yesterday there was a car accident, the day before that there was a robbery-”

“Dude,” Cisco interrupted, “sense the tone.”

“Besides, isn’t this what we talked about?” Barry pointed out. “Me using me speed to help people.”

“We talked about using your powers to contain people who were affected by the Particle Accelerator. _Metahumans_ ,” she reminded him. “And aside from Clyde Mardon, we haven’t found any.”

“Caitlin, we’re talking about helping the people in this city.”

“Exactly,” Cisco agreed. “We’re basically a public service.” Caitlin sighed and looked behind them.

“Will you please say something?”

Barry still couldn’t get used to the sight of Dr Wells in a wheelchair after working with him for a year – and the fact that he was just as silent in it. “I think what Dr Snow is trying to say in her own spectacularly angry way,” he reasoned with a calm smile, “is that we are only just beginning to understand what your body is capable of. Not to sound like a broken record, but I do caution restraint.”

“Dr Wells, I doubt ‘restraint’ is what got you to where you are today.”

“A pariah in a wheelchair?” he questioned. “Trust me on this, Barry. Know your limits.”

Barry sighed as they both walked off, but then Cisco pulled him to one side. “Hey, did something happen out there? Your suit picked up some weird readings, like your vitals spiked or something.”

Barry shrugged. “Never felt better.”

“Anyway, I’ll see you later. Aren’t you late for work?”

He glanced at his watch. “Not yet. Superspeed, remember? Besides, I have to see someone first.”

***

Iris muttered darkly to herself as she sat at her desk. Not only had she gotten up too late to say goodbye to Barry, who’d sped off before she was awake, she’d missed her morning coffee and she hadn’t had any breakfast. Plus, she’d just remembered that today was her day to cover one of the horrible assignments that Mason gave to people he was pissed off at. She sat at her desk and booted up her laptop, wishing for something to make this day better. Then a shadow fell over her desk.

“One Americano with an extra shot, and a toasted bagel with cheese,” Barry said, putting a bag on her desk. Iris grinned up at him gratefully.

“Have I ever told you you’re my hero?”

“Yeah, but don’t let that stop you.”

Barry sat on the edge of her desk as she sipped her coffee. It was still relatively early, so there weren’t a lot of people there, but he could see that someone had already turned on all the televisions and digital clocks. There was Superman zooming around Metropolis, the footage from Supergirl saving that plane a few months ago, and…”Oh.”

“Yeah,” Iris said, seeing what he’d noticed on the Gotham screen. “That’s another thing you missed. Gotta tell you, though, not used to it myself yet.”

Barry watched as the Joker burst out of a bank and into a van, followed by a woman with blonde hair and wearing a jester’s costume behind him. In seconds they had sped away, and then it cut to someone explaining that the Joker and his minion had struck again. “Is that…”

“Yeah, it’s her,” Iris replied quietly. “Harley Quinn. I noticed it a few weeks ago, and then her parents called me to ask whether I knew how to get into contact with her. I tried, but…”

“Iris, I’m sorry. I had no idea…”

Iris shrugged. “Neither did I. I guess you can’t fix everyone. So, why aren’t you at work yet? Aren’t you late?”

“Superspeed, baby,” he grinned. “Besides, I’ve got time, and I wanted to bring my favourite girl some coffee.”

Iris smiled and shook her head, cursing herself for blushing at Barry and his corniness. She looked at her computer. “Well I’m glad something’s going fast for someone, because there’s been a break out a the prison and because Mason hates me I can’t even…wait. Apparently there was a red blur seen at a fire in an apartment on Fifth.”

“Huh,” he said, grinning into his coffee. “Imagine that.”

Iris swatted him playfully. “Are you being careful, at least?”

“Totally,” he assured her. “The most careful of the careful. Although I think Caitlin doesn’t believe me.”

“Well, that’s understandable,” Iris pointed out. “With everything with that happened with Ronnie.”

“I guess,” Barry shrugged, and then swayed a little, clutching his head.

“You okay?”

“Just a little light-headed. Guess I’m not used to the whole speed thing.”

Iris studied him and pointed to the bowl of candy on her desk. “Eat some M&Ms.” He nodded obediently and took a handful, just as her phone started to ring. “Iris West? Oh, hey dad. What’s up? Barry?” she said, looking at him. His eyes widened. “No, I haven’t seen him, he left before I woke up. Late for a gun store robbery? Well, I’m sure he’s on his way,” she added, gesturing for him to look at this phone. “And I’m sure he’ll remember he has to teach Jesse while on the scene. Uh-huh.”

Barry finished his coffee, burning his mouth because he was going so fast, before kissing her on the forehead and running out of the door. She sighed, smiling. “Go easy on him, dad. He’s had a rough year.”

Iris hung up the phone, before sitting down to do some preliminary research on Stagg Industries. Honestly, she’d said _one_ thing about Cat Grant and now she had to go write about his new scientific developments. And as much as she loved Barry and her brother and Cisco and Caitlin, sometimes she just wanted to _not_ talk about science. She’d much rather be talking about the new green alien working with Supergirl in National City. Anything to distract her from the spectre of Harley’s apparent descent into villainy and Sara’s death. Barry had raced them over to the lair the following day and promised Oliver that she would keep an eye out for anymore Arrow copycats, since Sara had been impaled by three arrows. But it was Laurel they were worried about; Barry had said last night that when he’d called Felicity that Laurel was throwing herself into work and training, and they weren’t sure whether she was opening up to anyone yet.

She worked on the research diligently as people began to seep in, and then spotted Linda striding up to her desk with an irritated expression on her face. Too late, Iris remembered what her roommate was going to say.

“It’s been a week.”

“I’m sorry, Lin.”

“Our counter looks like USPS threw up on it.”

“I’ll be home and go through it,” she promised. “Pinky swear.”

Linda eyed her. Ever since Barry had come out of the coma she’d spent most of her time at Barry’s apartment. It was understandable, of course – she missed him, and there was still stuff that he needed help with. And even though Linda didn’t mind the alone time (and Iris suspected it would be a lot easier to date Wally in secret if Iris was never around the apartment), it meant that Iris wasn’t there to do a lot of stuff. That included going through all of her mail. And since they were both award-winning journalists with bills, insurance and – hello – student loans to worry about, they got a _lot_ of mail.

“Fine,” she shrugged. She sat on Iris’ desk and peered at her computer. “Ouch. I thought with CSI the Dork being around again you’d have your fill of science talk.”

“Yeah, well, this is what happens when you make jokes about your boss and Cat Grant.”

“One day,” she said idly, “we’ll find out what happened between them. I think it’ll be our next Pulitzer.”

“Definitely. Anyway, Barry’s helping me make sense of all the nerd talk when we go there after work.”

“Having seen you write about nothing but science for three months, I’d like to point out that this is an incredibly transparent way to make out with your boyfriend in public.” When Iris sipped her coffee but didn’t say anything, Linda laughed. “Okay, whatever. Are you covering the story on the break out in Iron Heights?”

“Nope, because Mason hates me. But I do get to teach Chris and Annie how to be True North today.”

“Is that why they’re so excited?”

“Excited?”

“Yeah. I was talking to them over by the coffee machines, and Annie’s really excited about using knuckledusters. Chris went out and got his own.”

Iris laughed, since it would be a while before she was teaching them anything to do with knuckledusters or stun guns or plastic handcuffs. Linda slid off her desk towards her own and Iris stood when she spotted the interns in question. “Chris, Annie? Could you guys come here?”

Both of them walk over, excitement clearly written on their faces. “Morning, Iris!” Chris greeted her, grinning. “What are we doing today?”

“Relax, Chris, it’s learning today. Now, have you read through the cases I told you about?”

Annie nodded. “Did Catwoman really send an evil tabby cat after you?”

“Yes, no matter what my boyfriend says,” she replied. She gestured for them to sit down. “Okay, so if you’ve read everything, you’ll probably notice that the common denominator in all these cases is that a lot of them are usually cases for the police or private investigators.”

“Oh, you mean like the time you knocked out the Ventriloquist and tied her to a flagpole?”

“Exactly, but we won’t be doing that,” she said. “For one, insurance doesn’t cover it. The first thing you need to know when we’re doing these cases is that there are limits. You’re not cops and you’re not soldiers and you’re not Batman – you have physical limitations. So sometimes, when you see something like this, you have to know whether you can handle it. So, we’re going to go through a list of cases that I have considered, gone through with, or forwarded to the police in the last ten years, and the two of you are going to guess which one’s which.” She clicked some files on her computer and then turned it to face them. “Okay, kids, show me what you’ve got.”

***

“Allen,” Captain Singh sighed as he sped into the room. “Nice of you to join us. What was the excuse this time?”

“Just getting up to speed with things, sir,” he said quickly. Singh rolled his eyes.

“Well, hurry it up if you can. Between this and the disturbance as Iron Heights, this is already a morning I hate. Eddie?”

“Apparently several men broke into this place this morning and stole dozens of firearms,” he said, reading from his notepad. “Witnesses report all were wearing dark clothing, about six feet in height and of medium build, and escaped through the back in a getaway car.”

Barry, meanwhile, was studying the footprints in the middle of the store, making note of the tread and size. “They’re all the same,” he breathed, and Joe frowned.

“The same?”

“All the footprints, they’re the same size,” he pointed out. “It may have been six men, but they’re all the same size and weight, judging by what we’re seeing here.” Everyone just stared at him and he cleared his throat. “Well, I will, uh, take some prints, and try to analyse the fragments and mud back at my lab.”

“Barry.” Eddie pulled him to one side as the others walked off. “You okay? Iris told me you’re having a tough time of it.”

“I’m fine, Eddie. Thanks, though, I appreciate it. Hey, what’s up with the thing at Iron Heights?”

Eddie sighed. “It’s really weird. We got calls of a disturbance there this morning, so obviously we assume it’s a break-in, but when we got there nobody was missing.”

“Who was it?”

But Eddie just shrugged. “Don’t know. Hey, I’ve gotta go, but I’ll see you back at work, okay? Looks like we’re on this together.”

Just as Eddie walked away to talk to more witnesses, Barry saw a shorter woman with brown hair and friendly blue eyes bound up to him, smiling helpfully. He smiled back. Jesse Chambers was helpful and warm, and even though it was a little weird having another CSI assistant around, not to mention one that he had to train, working in the lab next to his, he was glad it was someone like Jesse, who was eager to learn but perfectly capable of handling things on her own.

“What do we got, boss?”

“Jesse, I keep saying you can just call me Barry,” he said. “I’m not really anyone’s boss.”

“Right,” she nodded, tucking a lock of hair behind her hair. “Noted. So, what do you need? I heard something about all the men being the same size.”

“Yeah, I’m trying to figure that out myself. But we can only do one thing at a time, so listen – I’ll to the fragments and mud, and you see if you can get any prints on the counter or the door, see if they left anything when they were breaking in. I’ll meet you at the lab, alright?”

Barry went over some of the stuff with her again, patiently correcting her mistakes when she made them, before quickly heading back to test some of the samples. Of course, everyone picked that moment to give them a load of analyses to do, and he had to wait for today’s cases until almost the end of the day. He was getting used to being back, even though Jesse had moved his stuff around, and unfortunately he was used to bad equipment. He sighed irritably as he realised that the centrifuge was broken and there was no way he could get a new one. He held the test tube in his hand, and then he got an idea. Looking around to make sure no one could see, he shook it at super speed until everything blended. Then he grinned and put it with the rest of his work, before crossing back to his desk.

“Whoa,” he said as he stumbled. He blinked, shaking his head, trying to get some balance. Jeez, maybe he had to go back to STAR Labs.

“One of these days,” Iris called as she walked into his lab, “I am going to learn not to piss off Mason Bridge before work, because now I get to spend an hour listening to Simon Stagg talk about cloning. The only thing that’s keeping me from stabbing myself with a pencil is you and…what? Why are you looking at me like that? And why are you out of breath?”

Barry grinned slowly and walked towards her. “Because I have a totally hot girlfriend who comes to visit me at work, and she takes my breath away.”

“You know, if I had a dollar for everyone one your corny lines, I could afford to not work for my slave-driver boss.” She reached up on her toes to kiss him and then sat down at his desk. “How was your day?”

“You know how I thought having two CSIs here would help with the workload?” he asked. “Total pipe dream. I’ve only just started analysing things from the crime scene this morning. What about you?”

“Chris and Annie are really good interns,” she admitted. “Chris is a little too ready to go out and start using those knuckledusters, but I think they’ll be good at the whole True North thing. None so good as the original, though.”

“Don’t I know it. Hey, I’ll be done in a sec, and then I can change and we can go to the university. You really don’t need me though, you’re pretty much a science nerd yourself.”

“No!” she mock-whined, clutching his arm. “You can’t make me go without my Barry! Besides, seeing you in your suit will be a precursor to our date this week.”

Barry smiled at her. Both of them remembered that the night he was hit by lightning they were supposed to go on their first official date, so they’d made reservations at the same restaurant they’d intended to go to. “I promise, I will not get struck by lightning this time.”

“Good,” she told him, leaning up to kiss him, “because that put a total damper on things last time.”

Barry had his hands in Iris’ hair when they both heard someone make a surprised noise. “Sorry, I’m sorry! I’ll come back later, I-”

“Jesse,” Barry laughed, as he let go of Iris, “relax, it’s cool. What did you need? Shouldn’t you be going home for the day?”

Jesse’s blush faded and she smiled. “Yeah, I just wanted to let you know, I couldn’t find any prints on any of the doors or anything. I guess whoever did this was a real professional.”

“Great, just what we need,” Barry muttered. “Thanks, Jesse. You have a nice night.”

“What are you up to?” Iris asked.

“Wally was supposed to be showing us what he’s working on with my dad, but he cancelled. He’s meeting with his mystery girlfriend.” When Jesse gave Barry a wary look, Iris laughed. “Don’t worry, Jesse. Barry knows.”

“Jesse knows too?” Barry demanded. “Seriously?”

“Well, it’s so obvious,” she pointed out. “Is the bet still on?”

“Sure.”

“You’re both going to hell,” Barry told them. “You hear me? _Hell_.”

“Come, Bar, it’ll be fun. Just a tiny bet, what’s the harm?”

“As someone who’s been hit by both Linda _and_ Wally,” he answered, “I can most definitely tell you what the harm is.”

Iris giggled just as Eddie walked in. “Hey, guys. Barry, you got those analyses ready for me yet?”

“Sorry, Eddie, it’ll have to be tomorrow. I’m still getting back up to…speed with things.”

Iris gave a laugh that turned into a cough and their friend shrugged. “No problem, it’s no rush. I’ve been trying to get to the bottom of this whole thing at Iron Heights, but no luck so far. What are you guys doing tonight?”

“Science thing, because Mason hates me,” Iris replied, and Barry added that he was going with her.

“Probably hang out with Max,” Jesse shrugged, and Eddie grinned.

“Well, Linda and I had a date to watch the game tonight, but guess who just cancelled on me because she’s sick?”

“Oh, she’s not _sick_ ,” Iris said indignantly. “She wrestled the last cronut away from me today – she’s fine.”

“Well, what better way to hang out with Mr Mysterious? Besides, I bet that she wouldn’t tell us until next month, so she can keep going.”

“Hell,” Barry repeated. “ _Every single one of you_.”

***

“This is so boring.”

“No, it isn’t.”

“I’m bored, I blame you.”

“You should be blaming Mason.”

Iris narrowed her eyes at her boyfriend. “You’re so _sensible_ , why do I like you?”

Barry grinned down at her. “Because I’m so gosh darn cute?”

She rolled her eyes and continued forward through the crowd, wanting to get a good vantage point so at least the article she wrote would be good. They were at Central City’s University of Applied Arts and Sciences, here to hear a speech given by Simon Stagg. From the little Barry had told her and what she’d researched, this was a pretty big deal.

“Hey, remember the last time we were her together?” she said. “To hear Jay talk about the hard water?”

“Heavy water,” he corrected fondly. “Wow, that was a long time ago.”

“Hey, have you called Arthur? I hear he’s come up from whatever fishing boat he was in and I think he’d like to hear from you.”

“Yeah, it was nice of him to visit me with Joan when Jay was in the hospital.”

About a few weeks after Barry was hit by lightning, Jay breathed in some odd chemicals and had to be hospitalised. He was fine, now, but when Barry called Joan to say he was awake she’d mentioned he was still taking things easy. He was just sorry his missed Jay’s best friend coming to visit – he was always a lot of fun.

“Be warned, though,” he continued, “he likes to bring people fish as gifts. And whatever you do, when he says he’s from Atlantis, do not correct him and say he’s from the Pacific coast. He’s a traditional guy.”

“Arthur Curry of Atlantis does sound a lot better than Arthur Curry from northern California,” Iris admitted. “Plus, I think my dad will appreciate the fish if anything. Look, it’s starting.”

Both of them watched as Simon Stagg gave a speech about the advancements they’d made in reproductive medicine, before Iris put on her press pass and went to get a quote. Barry meandered over to the snacking table, suddenly famished, and rubbed his eyes. He had no idea why he was suddenly so light-headed – maybe he needed more sleep or something.

“Well, that was fun,” Iris said, appearing back next to him. She put her press pass back in her purse. “One long-winded features article on the clone wars, coming right up.”

“Actually, Stagg’s work has been a huge help for organ donation and cellular regeneration,” he informed her, linking arms with her. “I can give you some pointers, if you want.”

“First,” she said, grabbing some champagne from a nearby waiter, “we take advantage of my favourite perk of the job – drinking.”

“Hey, not before closing statements.” He took them away from her again and grinned at her pouting. “You want to slave-driver to scalp you?”

“I’ve missed you, you know. It’s…Well, it’s nice to talk to you and have you actually, you know, talk back.”

Barry looked at her for a second. Iris’ expression was inexplicably sad again, but before he could ask her what was wrong they heard gunshots and people screaming.

“GET ON THE GROUND, NOW!”

“Oh my God,” Iris breathed as Barry grabbed her arm. There were six men in black masks herding everyone into the corner, and Barry pulled her back amongst them. Then they started barking orders at everyone, telling them to give up their jewellery and watches. Barry clenched his jaw and started to walk towards them, but Iris pulled him back. “Don’t,” she said softly. He frowned at her.

“My powers, I can’t help them-”

“You don’t have your suit, Barry.”

He sighed, glancing back to the robbers, and then gasped in horror when a security guard stumbled out in front of them, pointing his gun in his shaking hand. “F-Freeze!”

The men turned – as one, which Iris thought was odd – and the guard shifted his gun between all of them. She was about to scream, but then she felt a whoosh and then the guard was gone. The bullets hit the far wall, and then they ran out of the room leaving everyone in shock. Once she was sure that someone called the police, Iris raced outside in her heels, her heart beating frantically in her chest as she looked around for Barry. Her heart sank when she found him collapsed on the floor, and suddenly she had a horrible flashback to the coma.

“Barry! Barry, wake up!” she slapped his face a few times, and then contemplated calling Caitlin when he gasped awake. “What happened?”

“I-I don’t know,” he stammered breathlessly, looking around. “I got the guy out of there and then I was going to double back so no one saw me, but I guess I fainted.”

“Okay, that’s it,” Iris declared, pulling him to his feet, “you’re going back to STAR Labs and Caitlin and Dr Wells are going to take a look at you.”

They looked up once they heard sirens, and once they got there they saw Eddie and Joe talking as ambulances checked over the people. Eddie spotted them and frowned. “What happened to you two, are you okay?”

“Barry you look like you’re about to faint,” Joe added worriedly. Barry cleared his throat.

“Yeah, I was trying to get the plates, and I fainted.”

“I’m getting you a paramedic,” Eddie decided, but he shook his head.

“No, it’s cool. I’m going back to STAR Labs, they can help. Did you guys find anything out?”

“Well, this is the second attack on Simon Stagg in as many weeks,” Eddie told them, looking at his notes. “Unfortunately, he’s still refusing police protection.”

“Second?” Iris frowned. “Seriously?” But Joe just shrugged.

“Things like this happen all the time – I honestly don’t know how Maxwell Lord is still alive. The difference is that they usually hire security that actually works.”

“So do you guys have any leads?” Barry asked.

“Not yet, but we’re working on it.”

“Good to hear,” Iris said. She looked at Barry. “How about I drive you to see the others?”

“Actually, I left my stuff at work – can I get a ride with the guys and I’ll call you later?”

“Sure.”

Once Iris said goodbye and left them all canvassing, she called Chris and Annie to meet her back at CCPN. They were surprised to see her in a dress after hours, but perked up once she told them this could be a potential True North case. There was something about those men moving in unison that felt eerily familiar.

“The thing with people like Simon Stagg and Maxwell Lord and Lex Luthor is that they always have enemies,” Iris informed them. “The important thing is to figure out is who they are and what they’re likely to do – and if they have the means to do it. I want you guys to get me a list of anyone that could, for whatever reason, have something against him.”

Annie looked up at Iris as she turned on her computer. “You think someone wants him dead?”

“Maybe,” Iris said evenly. “Scared yet?”

“Not a chance,” they said together.

Iris grinned.

***

“You’re hypoglycaemic,” Caitlin told him. Barry, pulling his shirt back on, stared at her.

“Seriously?”

“Barry, the speed at which you – not to mention your metabolism – are moving,” Dr Wells said, “means that you’re using much more energy than you’ve always been used to. To accommodate for that, you’re going to have to increase your nutritional intake.”

“I have to eat more?” he asked. Caitlin put down her iPad and crossed to the computer terminal.

“Don’t worry, I’m already setting up a meal plan for you,” she informed him. Cisco took his feet off the table and grinned.

“What about those spicy beef tamales that Wally makes?” he suggested. “And enchiladas? I can make you enchiladas.”

“Cisco, this isn’t an excuse for you to eat yourself to death on Mexican food.”

“This is a scientific experiment, Caitlin.”

“Entailing?”

“How much Mexican food Barry can eat before he explodes like a cheese-filled bug.”

Barry laughed and Caitlin wrinkled her nose. “That’s disgusting.” But Dr Wells chuckled quietly.

“I have to admit, I’d be very interested in the outcome of that situation. But for now, Barry, you might be more interested in the Chinese takeout that will be arriving in a few moments.”

Barry frowned at him. “You knew I was coming?”

“When Caitlin informed me of why you were coming – light-headedness, weakness, fatigue – I came to my own conclusions. At least, the conclusions that made the most sense.”

Barry stared for a second, about to ask how Dr Wells would know such a thing, but then his phone buzzed with a call. “Barry Allen?”

“Hey, Barry.” It was Eddie. “I just wanted to let you know, you don’t need to worry about the crime scene at Stagg Industries today, Jesse took care.”

“Thanks, Eddie. You heading home?”

“No, actually. Joe and I are heading over there to appeal to Stagg to take some damn police protection. I don’t hold out much hope, but Joe thinks we can sway him.”

“Alright, keep me posted.”

Barry hung up and shoved his phone back in his pocket, and then grinned gratefully when he smelled the Chinese takeout arrive. Caitlin talked him through his meal plan (and Barry made a note to himself to get some casserole recipes from Linda, because she really was amazing at cooking), and then they made him get on the treadmill and do other speed exercises. He probably would have gone on like that for the rest of the night, but then Cisco got an alert on the computer. Barry slowed down and then stopped. “What’s that?”

“The computer that we hooked up to the police scanner last week, pay attention,” Cisco frowned. “Uh-oh, something’s going down at Stagg Industries. More gunman, probably the same ones from before.”

Barry stumbled off the treadmill and into the Cortex. “Wha – Joe and Eddie are there.”

“Multiple gunshots heard,” Caitlin added. “Hurry, Barry.”

Cisco, Barry and Dr Wells gave her a look. “Oh, you know what I meant,” she huffed. “ _Move_!”

One of the things Barry and Cisco had worked on since he got his powers was how to get in the suit quickly – he was suited up and at Stagg Industries within seconds. “Guys? Give me some direction!”

“They’re in the basement, fourth quarter,” Cisco said quickly. “Jeez, I think they have more guys than they did before. Be careful.”

“Working on it!”

Barry sped past all the barriers and down to the lower levels, where he could indeed hear gunshots going off. He ran through the large hanger, ducking between containers, and spotted Joe and Eddie trying to shield Stagg from several men in masks shooting bullets at them. All around them, he could see what had to be bodyguards strewn, unmoving, on the floor. “I’m gonna get them out, then take out the guys with the guns.”

“Get them somewhere safe, Barry.”

Barry nodded to himself and took a deep breath. Only Joe knew about him and his powers, and he wanted to keep it that way for now. He saw Joe spot him lurking in the shadows, his eyes widening in shock, before he nodded slightly. Barry nodded back and then _moved_ , grabbing them at top speed and then depositing them outside. Then he flashed back inside to see that they were even _more_ men, if that were possible. Where were they coming from?

“Disarm them, Barry,” Dr Wells said calmly, as if he knew what he was thinking. “Once they have no guns, they’ll be easy to apprehend.”

So Barry did that – or, at least, he tried to. He got about halfway before he saw that more were swarming around the place. And then one of them started to vibrate, becoming blurry around the edges, until Barry saw a clone of that person separate from the original. He was in such shock that he could only watch in horror, and then one of them fired at the ceiling, cutting out all the lights. By the time he’d managed to get his bearings, they were gone.

“Oh, crap.”

***

“Matt Turner, Sophia Baxter, Millicent Appleby, and Darius Dale,” Annie declared the next day.

“Complete with current location and occupation,” Chris added.

Iris looked up from her computer. She had left them to their own devices the night before, confident that maybe they’d find a couple of names, but she wasn’t expecting anything big. She was currently looking up an accident involving a supposed bomb at Central City’s Army Base, where Bette used to work, but the news there was scarce. She was trying to figure out whether there was a story there and whether she could go there when her lunch break started in a few minutes, when the two of them came over, practically bursting with excitement.

“What is this?”

“This is a list of anyone who could possibly have a problem with Simon Stagg.”

“Enough to hire a team of gunmen to kill him?” Iris asked, picking up their notes. She scanned them, impressed – Chris and Annie were certainly thorough. Millicent was fired for being pregnant, essentially, being forced out of her job through underhanded means, and Matt Turner was ‘let go’ after an on the job injury. “Where are they now?”

“Well, they’ve all hired lawyers and they’re in the process of suing him,” Annie admitted. “But it’s a big multinational company versus a one person – there’s depositions, injunctions, character assassinations, all kinds of delaying tactics to get them to drop their suits.”

“So I wouldn’t be surprised if they just gave up,” Chris explained. “When people are desperate, they do desperate things – like the time Tockman broke into Kord Industries and robbed all those banks.”

Iris nodded slowly. “Hm, I get it, I do. Just, looking at all these people, I’m not sure if they would hire gunmen to kill him. It’s a pretty big leap.”

Chris and Annie shared a look, and Iris’ antennae went up. “What is it?”

“Well, there’s one more,” Chris admitted, pulling out another file. “He was an employee there a couple of years ago, and then he was fired. But he was working on this new thing to do with cellular regeneration-”

“That’s what I was covering yesterday,” Iris interrupted, frowning. “Stagg said he was responsible for that.”

“Well, he wasn’t,” Annie told her. “It was all this guy, but when he was fired, Stagg suddenly became the senior scientist on the case and this guy’s importance was diminished.”

“What was his name?”

“Danton Black.”

“Danton Black,” Iris repeated, looking at their notes. “Why does that sound so familiar?”

“Because he’s-”

“Iris?”

She looked up. Unbeknownst to her, Eddie and Barry had walked into CCPN, identical serious expressions on their faces. “Uh, hey, guys. What’s up?”

Barry and Eddie looked at each other. “We, uh, wanted to take you to lunch,” Eddie said. “To talk.”

“Yeah, to talk,” Barry added.

Iris looked between the two of them and got the distinct impression that neither of them wanted to take her to a nice afternoon lunch. She glanced at the clock and then nodded. “Okay, sure. You guys keep looking into this, I’ll be back in an hour.”

When they were seated in Jitters and their sandwiches had arrived, she sat back and looked at them. “Okay, so why did the two of you come into CCPN like you were there to report a murder?”

“You remember that case I was telling you about yesterday, where we thought there was a break-in and there wasn’t?” Eddie said. Iris nodded. “Well, it turns out that he had a direct link to this case.”

“He does?”

“Iris, last year, when you got that guy arrested because he was a metahuman that could replicate himself?” Barry asked. Iris frowned. She vaguely remembered sitting on a roof, talking to Kyle, and then using Felicity’s video camera to film them as they came out of the warehouse.

“Um, yeah?... Multiple Man, that was it, right? Was he the guy in the prison?”

“Yeah,” Eddie answered. He got out his iPad. “When we got there, he was just sitting in his cell, not doing anything. We just figured an alarm went wrong or something. But then I did some research and looked up your video, and I realised that the same way those guys in the warehouse operated is the way the people who attacked Stagg operated. And his name is-”

“Danton Black,” Iris realised, and both the men stared at her.

“How did you know that?” Barry asked.

“My interns,” she said distracted, rubbing her temples (although she should stop calling them that, they were staff writers now). “They…figured it out. Okay, so what next? What do we do?”

“Well, we really want to keep the fact that there are metahumans after citizens running around to ourselves,” Eddie explained. “I think he left one clone in jail to throw us off. But this is good, it can help convince Stagg that he needs protection. Joe and I were there last night and they almost killed us. So I’d appreciate it if you-”

“I’ll messenger everything I know over to you,” she said quickly. “You’re at the precinct, right?”

“Thanks, Iris, I appreciate it. And your interns would probably do well to keep out of it.”

“I’ll let them know.”

Eddie stood. “Great. I’ve got to head back. Barry, you coming?”

“Actually, I wanted to talk to Iris,” he said hesitantly, and Eddie looked only a little sad before he cleared his throat.

“Of course. I’ll see you guys later.”

Iris bit her lip and Barry sighed as Eddie walked back to his car, and then they turned to each other. “Why is it always Tuesdays?” she asked.

“Because it is. Listen, I was there last night, when they attacked.”

“ _You_ you or red leather and lightning bolt you?”

“Red leather and lightning bolt – which reminds me, I need a better name than the Streak.”

“Come up with one and we’ll see. What happened last night?”

Barry sighed. “Danton Black, well, about forty of them, turned up, and they were going to kill Stagg if I didn’t get them out of there. Plus, they seem to have unlimited stamina – we don’t know how we’re going to defeat them.”

Iris looked up at him, her face worried. Barry looked distracted and worried, and even though he was fine now, standing in front of her, she could almost see the bruises that were on him when she got to the hospital nine months ago, and the stitches. She didn’t like to think what would happen if a crazy metahuman got it into their head to hurt Barry. “You – You’re being careful, right?”

“Of course. I mean, I don’t know that he’ll attack soon again, since we’ve foiled him twice in one day.” He sighed and then shook his head. “Anyway, are we still on for tonight? Eight o’clock?”

Iris smiled slowly. “Yeah, can’t wait. As long as you promise-”

“I won’t get struck by lightning again, Iris.”

“I’m just saying, there’s precedent.”

***

“Hold still.”

“Are you sure you’re doing it right?”

“I know how to tie a bowtie, Barry.”

Cisco, his feet on the table and a Twizzler hanging out of his mouth, didn’t look up from the computer as he said, “Dude, why didn’t you just wear a normal tie?”

Barry grimaced as Caitlin pulled the tie tighter. “Iris likes bowties.”

“Huh. It’s very twenties. Great Gatsby meets the Sun Also Rises.”

Barry and Caitlin both stopped what they were doing and stared at him. He popped his collar. “Yeah, I read and shit.”

“There, you’re done,” she said finally, fixing the tie. She glared at Barry’s hand as it moved up to fiddle with it. “Don’t. Touch. Where are you guys going?”

“One of Oliver’s restaurants, he got me a reservation. And I’m late, so where did we land?”

Caitlin crossed back to the terminal. “Well, we’ve heard nothing from Black since this morning, and Eddie and Joe said that Stagg just upped his security.”

“We’ll keep you posted, though, so make sure you’ve got your cell on you,” Cisco added. “We don’t want him to show up with his army and have you too busy eating veal marsala to help.”

“It’s not the food you’ll have to worry about, it’s Iris,” Barry pointed out. “She’s kind of been waiting for this date for a year.”

Caitlin pursed her lips, not saying anything, and Barry mentally punched himself. He needed to stop flaunting his relationship in front of Eddie and Caitlin – he may have survived the explosion, but Bette and Ronnie hadn’t. Cisco, sensing this, cleared his throat. “Do you think she’ll be open to changing his name?”

“To what?”

“’Multiplex’. Don’t get me wrong, ‘Multiple Man’ is okay, but it’s a little…cutesey.”

“I’ll let her know. Anything else?”

“Get the lobster,” Caitlin and Cisco said together.

***

Iris knew it was dumb, but she had breathed a little sigh of relief when Barry pressed the buzzer to her apartment and Linda informed her that he was waiting downstairs. She leaned in the doorway, watching as Iris threw a few things into her purse and checked her make-up one last time. “With you looking like that, he’d better be taking you somewhere nice. And you’d better put out.”

“Linda!”

“That was a joke! Hey, you got more mail today. One of them looked pretty important.”

Iris frowned briefly. “Wonder what it could be? I’m not expecting anything. Crap, that’s Barry. Don’t wait up!”

So now they were arm-in-arm, strolling to the restaurant near the plaza. It was a little chilly but Barry had his arm around her, and soon they were at the restaurant being seated by a very snooty-looking maître d’ who got very friendly quickly when he saw who’d made the reservation. “I am never,” Barry said as he sat down, “going to stop milking the fact that I saved Oliver Queen’s life to get free stuff. Never.”

“You sure he’s going to let you?” Iris laughed. “He’s pretty handy with that bow, you know.”

“I’m fast now, remember? Or I could just say Hal did it.”

Iris laughed again and Barry studied his menu. She looked at him, simply content to look at the planes of his face. His mouth, his eyes, even those ludicrously long eyelashes – every bit of him was precious to her, and she’d be forever grateful to whatever entity brought him back to her. He looked up right then and smiled. “What?”

“Nothing. Just…glad to have you awake.”

She hadn’t been able to stop staring at him since he arrived at her apartment, all freshly-showered and shaved and handsome in a suit and bowtie (because of course he remembered). He hadn’t seen her at first – he was on the phone – so she’d just looked at him, smiling. Then of course he’d turned and couldn’t stammer out that she looked beautiful fast enough, and then they were kissing, and she was certain they would have missed their reservation if Linda hadn’t leaned out of the window at that moment and told them to move before they distracted traffic.

The restaurant was crowded but not too crowded, and there was a jazz band playing in the background. Their free bread arrived (and Iris put in a request for more, since Caitlin had told her about her boyfriend’s new ridiculous new metabolism), and she slowly felt the tension dissipate out of her. Since he’d come out of the coma, she was beset by a kind of mild panic that he’d been taken from her again. But no, they were here, on their date, talking about Wally and Linda, and Captain Singh maybe proposing to his boyfriend, and how Laurel was doing after Sara’s death.

So it was ruined, of course.

“So I finally just told them we’d have to drop it,” Iris shrugged, twirling her spaghetti. “Because the police were handling it. Poor babies looked like I’d cancelled Christmas.”

“Well, you did good,” he nodded. “You were right to tell them. I’m not sure Black’s the kind to look too kindly on civilians getting in his way.”

“That’s what I said – sorry.” Iris frowned as her phone flashed with a message. She’d told everyone she knew not to contact her in case of an emergency. Her frown deepened when she saw it was a text from Chris.

**_ Are scientific research buildings private property? _ **

_Not usually._

Then nothing. “Sorry, I guess ‘only in emergencies means different things to different people.”

“It’s cool,” he said distractedly. “Hey, I need the bathroom, I’ll be back.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

**_ So if they were open to the public, they wouldn’t technically be private? _ **

_It depends on whether they’ve put a time for that to be in effect._

Honestly, what the hell were they up to at this time of night? Barry came back and she put her phone away. “Sorry, I drank a lot of water at lunch.”

“Don’t worry about, I – Barry, is there a leaf in your hair?”

He removed it and flung it on the floor, blushing. “No.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Barry.”

“There was a cat stuck up a tree.”

“Okay, Streak boy. Anyway, I – _what_?” she snapped at her phone. “Okay, I need to yell at my interns, do you mind?”

“Go ahead,” he said. “I, uh, need to call Cisco and Caitlin anyway.”

“Thanks. Chris,” she said into her phone, but she was cut off by crashing and the sound of Annie swearing.

“Iris?”

“Chris, what did I say about calling me today?”

“It’s kind of an emergency.”

And the way his voice sounded, Iris new in her bones that something was wrong. “What did you do?”

“Well, remember when you told us how you were investigating the Scarecrow, so you went into his research facility and hid out until you could find something?”

Iris took a deep, calming breath. “I sincerely hope this isn’t the part where you tell me you did what I did, which was disobeying my boss, trespassing on private property and almost getting myself killed. Because that would be bad.”

“Uh…”

“ _Chris_! I almost got fired and Commissioner Gordon almost shot me!” she hissed. “What were you – God, never mind. Just get out of there, this minute.”

“See, that’s the thing. We got some really good interviews with some of the old workers, and even some pictures, and we waited for hours after everyone went home, but we couldn’t find anything else. And we were about to leave, and we saw-”

“Danton Black,” she realised. Great. Brilliant. “Holy shit – okay, where are you guys?”

“Third floor walkway. He came in and I think he’s heading downstairs to Stagg’s office.”

Iris pressed a hand to her temple and glanced at Barry, who appeared to be having an equally harrowing conversation with Caitlin and Cisco. Well, his day was about to get a lot worse. “Both of you, stay where you are, keep hidden, and _do not call the police_. I’ll think of something. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Barry hung up at the same time she did, and then they both blurted out, “Danton Black is at Stagg Industries.”

“How do you know that?” Iris asked.

“How do _you_ know that?”

“My interns are there, they told me.”

“Caitlin and Cisco caught him on some cameras, he’s there to kill Stagg.”

They stared at each other. “I’ll get the cheque, you get ready to run,” she said.

***

Barry ran as quickly as he could to Stagg Industries, his heart racing. Iris, Cisco, Caitlin and Dr Wells were giving him instructions and the lay of the land. Iris was also talking to her interns, reassuring them that help was on the way. He saw where Black had broken in already, a smashed window with bits of broken glass everywhere, and he gritted his teeth. “Stagg’s office, where is it?”

“Bottom floor,” Cisco answered. “Hurry, Barry, he’s almost there!”

Barry raced to the ground floor, zipping in and out of rooms until he found Stagg sitting there surrounded by papers. Before he even had a chance to register the red blur in front of him, Barry grabbed him and zipped him downstairs out of the building. “Stagg’s safe, where at the interns?”

“They’re on the third floor behind a pillar,” Caitlin answered.

“Got them, they’re outside.”

Barry left them then, clutching each other in fear and confusion, and went back inside. The first floor was dark, but he could feel Black’s presence – and he knew that he’d be angry he foiled his plan. He stepped into the darkness. “I – I know Stagg stole your research. But that doesn’t give you the right to murder!”

Then Barry heard a gunshot and ducked out of the way just in time, bending backwards from the waist. The bullet flew past him, agonisingly slow, and he flipped back up again. “You think this is about glory?” he spat.

But the voice came from above, and Barry raced upwards to confront it. “This was about Elizabeth, my wife. She had a degenerative heart disease. I couldn’t get her a new heart so-”

“You were going to grow her one,” Barry realised. Another gunshot, this time from across the room, and he flashed to Black’s clone and slammed him into a wall.

“And then,” another voice from far away called, “Stagg stole my research so he could take the credit!”

Barry looked up. “And I…I got to bury my best friend. Now he has to die.”

He ducked out of the way of another bullet, and then watched in horror as more and more clones came out of one of them and headed straight towards him. He didn’t have any room to move before they were on him, kicking and punching until he couldn’t breathe.

“Barry?” Iris demanded when she couldn’t hear him. “ _Barry_!”

He ground gritted his teeth again and took a deep breath, before bursting out of the throng of clones, sending them spinning into the air. “There’s too many,” he gasped, “I can’t fight them!”

“Iris, you’re the only one who’s seen him up close,” Caitlin said urgently. “Is there anything that could help Barry?”

“I don’t know, I…well, when he did the cloning thing, the one in the middle didn’t move, he just let the rest of them do all the work.”

“The prime,” Caitlin and Dr Wells said.

“The prime?” Cisco and Iris asked.

“The prime,” Dr Wells confirmed. “He’ll be the one exerting the most effort – once you defeat him, the rest will follow.”

Barry looked up as they swarmed towards him, identical expressions of rage on their faces. Then he raced forth, studying and dismissing clones as he went. Lightning flashed and buzzed as he ran, and that’s when he saw Black – the real Black – staring at him, a bead of sweat running down his temple. He grabbed him and raced him away from the group, slamming him to a wall, and then letting him slump to the floor. He lay there, unmoving, and Barry sighed in relief when he saw that the rest of them had fainted, too.

“Bar?” Iris asked, her voice shaky, “you there?”

“I’m okay. He’s down.”

Barry rubbed his face, trying to get his bearings back…and then Black sprang up and flew at him. He ducked out of the way and Black flew past him, crashing straight into the window. Barry grabbed his hand and shook his head desperately. “No,” he gasped. “ _Don’t_.”

But Black did something he’d never seen before – a hand grew out of his wrist and detached Barry’s hand from his own, and he could only watch in horror as he flew towards the ground.

***

Iris stood with Caitlin and Cisco as listened. When Black hit the ground, Caitlin let out a choked noise and Dr Wells removed his glasses. Iris swallowed. “Is he-”

“He’s dead,” Barry confirmed quietly. Iris looked down at her shaking hands and took a deep breath. “Barry you have to get out of there.”

“Miss West is right, Barry,” Dr Wells said. “The authorities will be there soon, and you can’t be seen.”

“What are we going to do about the body?” Caitlin asked.

“I’ll take care of it,” Iris sighed. “This is one thing I, unfortunately, have a little experience in.”

“You can take my car,” Cisco said quietly, handing her keys. “I can walk to work tomorrow.”

Iris nodded gratefully and left, turning on her wireless when she got in. “Eddie, you need to get to Stagg Industries.”

“Iris? What – are you there?”

“I’ll be there in a sec. Eddie?” she added.

“Yeah?”

“Bring a coroner.”

He agreed, his voice subdued, and Iris called Mason next. He picked up on the third ring. “I was sleeping, West.”

“Sorry, Mase. Listen, you’re going to need to send a news team to Stagg Industries, right now.”

“Do I want to know how you know that?”

“I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

There were already some cops around when she got there, not to mention Stagg’s guards surrounding him, and Iris sighed in relief when she spotted Chris and Annie talking to Eddie. They balked a little when they saw her. “There you guys are.”

“Are they with you?” Eddie asked.

“Yes,” she answered tightly. “And they are going to get in the car and sit there quietly until I take them home.”

Once they’d walked off, Iris rubbed her temples. “God, it’s like they don’t _listen_.”

“Like a certain journalist I know.”

“Shut up. Did they give statements?”

“They gave me the whole thing; they were very helpful. Don’t be too hard on them. I think this was bad enough.”

They were quiet in the car as Iris drove them back to CCPN, and Iris was not surprised. This was a terrible first case of this kind to go through, so she sat them down in desk chairs and broke out her emergency whiskey. When they took a drink, and sighed. “The two of you are not to do _anything_ like that again, you understand?” she said sternly. “Not without telling me first.”

“Sorry, Iris,” they said together.

“Are you okay?”

“He just…he _died_ ,” Annie whispered. “We saw him.”

“The Streak thing tried, but he couldn’t save him,” Chris added, and Iris nodded.

“Yeah, well, the hardest thing to learn in these cases is that you can’t save everyone.” She was thinking of Harley, but really, it could apply to anyone. “Now drink that so I can drive you home, we have a lot of explaining to do tomorrow.”

***

“…and then he made me let go,” Barry finished quietly, spooning spaghetti and prawns into bowls. “I don’t know, I guess he wanted to die.”

“Wow,” Iris breathed quietly. They were back at his apartment, after Barry managed to snag some food from the restaurant. He’d also gotten Iris her mail, and now she was pretending to sort through it. For some reason she felt like he was going to burst into tears as she watched him move around the small kitchen.

“I guess some people break and don’t come back from it.”

Iris got up without a word and wrapped her arms around him. His arms came up around her automatically and he hugged her close. Within about two seconds, she was shaking. “Hey,” he said softly, “hey, Iris, it’s okay, I’m fine-”

“I couldn’t hear you,” she sobbed quietly into his chest, “and you sounded really hurt and-”

“It’s okay, he’s gone and I’m here.”

“I know. I just didn’t want you to leave again.”

Barry stepped back and cradled her face in his hands. “Iris, look at me. I am never leaving you again, as long as I live.”

Iris sniffled. “Do you promise?”

“I promise. Thanks for being there tonight, by the way. Couldn’t have done it without you.”

He smiled adorably at her and she smiled back. He kissed her lightly on the forehead and she went back to her mail. “This is what I get for not paying attention to my roommate duties.”

“How far are you?”

“Maybe I’ll be done at Christmas,” she sighed. She picked out a particularly scary-looking one. She peered at the return address. “Daily Planet? Do I know anyone there?”

“Doesn’t that Winn Schott guy you and Felicity know work there?” Barry asked.

“No, he works at CatCo.”

Iris opened the letter and realised it was fanmail – but she wasn’t prepared for who it was from:

_Dear Iris,_

_I’ve just spent the last month combing through your blog, and so has my boyfriend. It’s awesome and you are one badass lady._

_I’m reading everything you write from now on._

_Call me any time._

_Lois Lane_

“OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD-”

“What?” Barry stared at his screaming girlfriend.

“ _OH MY GOD OH MY GOD_ -”

“Iris, what is it?”

“LOIS LANE READ MY BLOG AND SHE KNOWS MY NAME AND-”

“Iris!” he grabbed her shoulders. “ _Breathe_.”

She stared at the letter, her hands shaking, and looked in the envelope. Then she let out a little scream when she saw that _Lois Lane_ had given Iris her _business card_. “I need to call Linda. And Felicity. And Dad, and Wally…oh my God, Lois Lane read my blog.”

“Of course she did,” Barry said. “My girlfriend is one badass lady.”

Iris smiled at him, feeling her heart burst out of her chest. “But I wouldn’t have it at all without you.”

“Now who’s corny?” When she hit him he laughed. “Are you going to call her?”

“DUH! But maybe I’ll wait for the fangirl to wear off.”

“Can I tell her she’s at the top of your freebie five list?”

“I hate you.”

“You love me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you guys liked that! let me know what you think ;)


	26. Plastique

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we meet a metahuman that DOESN'T try to kill Barry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you guys didn't think i'd kill my bae bette, did you?  
> ...minor NSFW  
> Disclaimer: lines taken from the 2014 Flash episode, 'Plastique' - all credit goes to the writers of that episode.

“So, you’re the Streak.”

“I really do need to get Iris to call me something else.”

Laurel Lance grinned at him, sipping her coffee. “Oh, I think it’s kind of cute. Plus Hal already got keychains made, wanna see?”

Barry stared in disbelief as Laurel pulled out a little keychain with a little red blur on it, with ‘The Streak’ underneath it in yellow. Barry stared at it and then looked at Hal, who was at the counter ordering about a dozen sandwiches for the train journey back. “If I push him into moving traffic, am I going to get in trouble?”

“It won’t work, he can fly, remember?”

“I really hate that guy. The whole time he was here he ate everything in my refrigerator.”

Laurel and Hal had come to Central City so that Laurel could visit Dinah, her mother, and then they’d spent a few days with them while he was doing his Streak stuff. And the one thing that came out of it? He wasn’t allowed to bring Hal to STAR Labs anymore. Or the precinct. Or CCPN. Plus, he somehow always ended up in his apartment or Iris and Linda’s apartment.

“So,” Barry continued. “How are you doing?”

“Well, I resisted the urge to put on my outfit and brain the first criminal I could find with my tonfas,” she replied idly, eating a muffin, “so there’s that.”

Barry nodded. Sara’s death hadn’t really affected him that much, since he’d known her for all of about eight hours before he got the call that she’d died. But Iris and Felicity were sad about it, and Diggle and Lyla had named their baby after her, and even though they hadn’t been together in years, Oliver had called several times before Laurel came over to demand that they be sensitive to her feelings about it.

“It’s just hard, you know? I mean, I guess you know better than anyone. She was gone and when she came back I was mad at her for _so_ long that I almost didn’t forgive her.” She sighed. “And then just when I did she was taken from us again.”

Barry nodded silently. This kind of grief, when the person was just taken from you, was hard to come back from. In fact, he wasn’t sure that it ever left you, since he was still dealing with it himself. She looked at him then, her blue eyes glassy with grief. “How’d you get over it?”

“I didn’t. I haven’t.” He paused, thinking. “It…Stays with you, but it isn’t always bad. I could never get justice for my mom, or my dad, so I decided I could get justice for other people through being a CSI, you know? Figuring out how to get those people peace.”

“That’s what I want,” Laurel said, desperation colouring her voice a little. “I just want to feel less angry and less chaotic…I just want peace.”

“Yeah, it’s hard. The superpowers help, though.”

“How?”

“Well, it’s a lot easier to get justice for everyone when you can run at practically the speed of sound,” he pointed out. “You can’t outrun the fastest man alive. You’ve gotta find your version of that.”

“The justice you can’t run from,” Laurel mused. “I like it.”

“Maybe Hal could put it on a keychain for you.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, glancing at him. Right at this moment Hal was trying to fit several donuts in a bag. “He gets it, you know. He’s not just a self-obsessed pretty boy.”

“So you agree, he’s a self-obsessed pretty boy.”

“Well, I’m not stupid. I know it’s not the same, but he lost his Carol the way I lost Tommy, and then Sara, and even though he says she’ll probably never get her back, he still lets it make him better.”

Barry paused. “Are you happy? With him?”

“I think I can be.”

“Good. And if he hurts you…Well, I know you’ll brain him yourself, so I’ll just give you my full support with that.”

Laurel gave him a small smile. “Thanks, Barry. Hey, our train is here. Tell Iris to call me if she needs anything, okay?”

“Sure.”

Right then, Hal walked up to them and grabbed Barry in a bear hug, squeezing the air out of his lungs. “See you later, Streak boy.”

“I _really_ need a new name.”

***

“It’s disgusting.”

“Ridiculous.”

“Both of them.”

“Really,” Eddie muttered, “who do they think they’re fooling?”

Iris and Eddie were across town at their favourite bar, sipping beer at the counter as their friends danced and played darts around them. It was weird, since the last time they’d been there Bette and Ronnie had been around, but Cisco wanted to cheer up Caitlin and Wally had brought Jesse and Max, so obviously Iris decided to bring Linda and Eddie. Barry was at the station seeing Hal and Laurel off so he’d be here soon, but she was going to make a conscious effort not to be too ‘disgusting couple’ when he got here. Besides, that position was apparently being taken up by Linda and Wally, who couldn’t even admit that they were a couple.

“He’s teaching her how to play darts,” Eddie said. “Like Linda hasn’t been playing darts since we were teenagers.”

“It’s just to Jesse and Cisco don’t ask why he keeps touching her,” Iris said, crunching some peanuts. “Although I do have to admit, my little brother’s got game.”

Eddie wrinkled his nose. “It’s weird, right, saying that Wally has game? He’s still the little kid who used to help me hide spiders in you guys’ rooms to me.”

“Same here. Oh, God,” Iris laughed suddenly, shaking her head. She pointed and Eddie frowned, before bursting into fits of barely-restrained laughter himself. Wally was talking to a waitress who was talking to him a little longer than usual, and Linda didn’t look too happy about it. “That’s her jealous face.”

“That waitress is going to get chicken wings in her hair.”

“That’s it,” Iris declared. “I am calling it – end of the week, tops. They’re acting like they’ve been together for years.”

“Yeah,” Eddie sighed. Then he glanced at his hands. “Bette and I were like that.”

Iris smiled at him sadly, squeezing his hand. “Oh, honey. I’m sorry. You wanna talk about something else?”

“I do, actually. When’s the next time you’re seeing the Streak?”

Iris rolled her eyes. “Come on, Eddie. I just write about him, nothing else.”

“Well, he got there pretty quickly that one time to help your writers,” he pointed out. “And you helped him catch that Mist guy.”

“I didn't help him,” Iris said. “My staff writers and I did some research, I put it on my blog, he used it. It’s no different than when I was helping you guys anonymously.”

“Whatever, I just think it’s weird that he always seems to know where you are.”

“Maybe he has a crush on me,” she said, flipping her hair, and Eddie raised his eyebrows.

“Actually, I think you have a crush on him.”

“Shut up.”

“Why is Eddie shutting up?” Barry interjected, coming in to sit next to them. Iris flashed a smile at him and squeezed his hand, taking in his windswept hair and upturned collar.

“Iris has a crush on the Streak,” Eddie told him. Iris rolled her eyes again.

“Yeah, and Barry used to date Supergirl,” she said dismissively. “Look, it’s probably just a True North thing – he knows I have experience with this stuff.”

“Well, I don’t know how much longer you can count on all that for much longer, with a name like the Streak.”

“I second that,” Barry added, gesturing to the bartender. He paled a little at Iris’ look. “What? ‘The Streak’ makes him sound like he should be locked up.”

“Everybody’s a critic,” she muttered, and Eddie laughed.

“How’s Laurel and Hal?”

“They’re good, they should be back in Star City in a few hours. Oh, wow, Wally and Linda are really making it obvious, aren’t they?”

“Yep,” Eddie agreed, and they all swivelled around to see them playing pool together. Eddie drained his beer and stood. “Ah, what the hell, I can troll them for a few minutes. You guys coming?”

“You think they can handle both of us being assholes at the same time?” Iris asked. “You do you, boo.”

Eddie walked off and Iris turned back to her boyfriend. “I could just stop writing about you all together, you know.”

“Or you could just let Cisco name me,” he pointed out. “He sends suggestions in all the time, and he’s already named three of the people I’ve gone up against.”

“Barry, it is bad enough that my writers have to talk about a parka-wearing thief named Captain Cold and a pyromaniac named Heatwave,” Iris told him. “Believe me, I’m withholding his naming duties until they get better. Besides, Hal made these really cute little keychains…”

Barry stared at her. “I am going to kill him.”

“Although,” she continued, “I haven’t actually seen you in action, so how am I supposed to know what to call you?”

“You’ve seen me in action!” he said. “Haven’t you?”

“Well, I’ve seen the paper fly into my face when you run and the lightning, and when you went up against Cold Felicity saw you, but I haven’t actually seen the Streak in action, no.”

“Huh. We’ll have to rectify that. Maybe it’ll be me saving Eddie from Wally because _he’s_ teaching Linda how to play pool instead of him.”

They watched briefly as Eddie pretended to be oblivious to the looks Wally was throwing, and then Iris snapped her fingers. “That reminds me, I wanted to ask you something. Have you ever heard of a Parademon?”

Barry frowned briefly before his face cleared. “Yeah, actually. I found one while I was investigating all the impossible stuff. It was before I started reading your blog, though.”

“What, back when we were teenagers?”

“Must’ve been. It was when Superman just started out – he’s the one who found them. Why do you need to know about Parademons?”

“Someone sent a message into the blog asking whether one had made it to Central City yet,” she answered. “But I don’t know why something from ten years ago in Metropolis would suddenly show up here in Central.”

Barry shrugged and Iris waved a dismissive hand. “Whatever, it’s probably not a big deal. Anyway, I’m going to go see whether I can get those two idiots to admit they’re in love.”

“We weren’t that bad, were we?”

“Barry,” she laughed, “we were _worse_.”

He smiled and she kissed him before walking off, and he took his drink and went to join Cisco and Caitlin. Both of them were watching Jesse with her boyfriend Max. Cisco snorted when he came up. “Why is it that we keep making friends with good-looking guys who take all the hot girls? Not you, Barry. Still trying to work out why Iris loves you so much.”

“Gee, thanks (!)” Barry said dryly. “You guys talking about Max?”

“Max Mercury II,” Caitlin said. “His dad founded Mercury Labs years ago, apparently. He works at the university.”

“Barry?” Cisco frowned. “Dude, what’s so interesting about your beer?”

Barry didn’t reply, instead taking a shot from the tray on the table. Then another, and then another. “Guys?”

“Barry, is there something you want to tell us?” Caitlin asked, eyebrows raised. Barry stared at the tray full of empty tequila shots.

“Guys,” he said again. “ _I can’t get buzzed_.”

They both stared at him, and Caitlin tipped her head. “You know, that makes sense, actually. With the fact that your metabolism breaks down food faster, it would logically follow that the standard level of alcohol present in drinks wouldn’t have any effect on you.”

“Great,” Barry said glumly. “I’m twenty-five, and my drinking days are over.”

“Well, at least you still have the superspeed thing,” Cisco pointed out. “Maybe you could use it to go beat Wally at darts or something, he’s pretty fast himself, actually.”

Right then the whole group walked back over to them as someone else took over the pool table, and Barry could tell from Iris and Eddie’s grins that they were up to no good. Honestly, once Eddie, Linda and Iris got in a room together, it was like dealing with three teenagers. “Drop it, Jesse,” Wally groaned. “I’m serious.”

“What’s going on?” Barry asked.

“We think it’s been a while since Wally went on a date and we’re trying to set him up with someone,” Eddie answered. “Jesse had some people, but-”

“You guys!” Wally laughed. “You know how much I hate blind dates! Besides, I’m interested in someone else.”

“ _Really_?” Iris waggled her eyebrows. “Anyone I know?”

“No, and I’m not going to tell you, either.”

“Why not?”

“Because every time I tell you I’m interested in someone, you google them and tell me their life story.”

“I do not do that!” Iris exclaimed indignantly. “Wait. Do I do that?”

“Iris, when I started dating Jimmy, you and Felicity managed to get an entire history of him in just a couple of hours,” Linda pointed out. “Believe me, I get why Wally’s not telling you.”

“But it’s not like we wouldn’t be supportive,” Iris said. “You know, if you really like her. And-”

But they were interrupted by Eddie’s pager going off. “Sorry, guys, going to have to cut this one short. A bomb went off on Spring Street and there’s a window-cleaner hanging from the scaffolding.”

Barry’s ears perked up as Eddie wished everyone goodbye and left, and Cisco and Caitlin huddled around him. “You guys have an intercom with you?”

“In my purse,” Caitlin answered, and they both stared at her. “What? If you insist on this superhero nonsense, I can at least come prepared. Just get your suit and we’ve got your back.”

As Barry prepared to leave, he heard Iris saying goodbye to everyone as well. “I have a really big story I’m working on,” she explained, pulling on her jacket, “and I’m already behind.

“Off on another hero-mission, Streak boy?” she asked once they were outside, and he gave her a lopsided grin.

“Maybe.” He flashed close to her, his breath in her ear. “And maybe if you’re fast enough you’ll see me in action, West.”

Iris blushed furiously and gasped as the lightning that followed him as he left, and he was at the street in minutes. Everyone was gathered at the bottom, looking up at the man hanging from the scaffolding as a fire raged above it. “Guys, the window washer’s gonna fall!”

“Well don’t try and catch him,” Cisco said. “You don’t have super strength.”

“Well…” Barry thought for a moment. “Is there a bed shop nearby? Maybe I can get a bunch of mattresses and stack ‘em!”

“Barry,” Caitlin admonished, “this isn’t a roadrunner cartoon!”

His heart sped up as a wire snapped and he suddenly had an idea. “How fast would I have to go to run up the side of a building?”

“…how far do you need to go?”

Barry shook his head. “I don’t know – fifty metres, give or take?”

He listened as Cisco made the calculations. Another wire snapped. “Guys, hurry!”

“Just run really fast,” Caitlin said quickly, “but you’ll need to maintain your velocity on the way down or…”

“Or what?”

“Splat.”

“Great,” Barry muttered. He jumped up and down a few times and looked up, taking a breath. “Here goes…”

He’d run fast before and under pressure before, but there was nothing like this. He was _running_ _up a building_ , seeing people on the ground below him, feeling the wind sing past his face and lightning fly out past him. He was at the worker in no time, catching him before he fell, and had placed him on the ground just as the metal and steel platform crashed to the floor next to them. Then he looked up, ready to run, and spotted Iris, her face a mask of wonder. He smiled at her a little – he couldn’t help it, it was Iris – but then Eddie appeared behind her and he blurred his face out of instinct. “Run,” she mouthed, and he winked at her before speeding off into the night.

***

“Eddie,” Iris said, “for the last time, you’re being ridiculous. The Streak didn’t _smile_ at me.”

Her friend gave her a dubious look over their coffee, which she tried to ignore. Honestly, she was still stuck on seeing Barry do that – that running up a building thing that she swore only existed in the cartoons she and Wally had watched when they were kids. Every time she closed her eyes she saw it, how he’d only needed a little bit of room before he was running on glass, gravity be damned, that yellow lightning trailing behind him. She had asked Dr Wells what that meant, once, a few weeks ago, since she was worried about anything that resembled lightning being anywhere near him, but he assured her that Barry was safe. Well, he’d said it was just a physical manifestation of his power that would grow in intensity as long as he used it, and then given her a really odd little smile as he said it.

The problem, of course, was that Barry had started basically grinning at her when he was done saving that guy. She didn’t blame him, since she’d wanted to run into his arms herself, but Eddie was right there. They were lucky Barry remembered to blur his face, since he wasn’t sure how many people he was going to tell – only her, Cisco, Caitlin, Dr Wells and her dad knew, as well as the people in Star City.

“Are you sure?” he asked. “Because it looked like he did.”

“If you’re thinking he has any idea why there was a bomb in a building that keeps coroners reports and medical files and that he’s going to tell me,” she said, “you’re out of luck. Although I do want to know.”

“Oh, because of the bomb threats you’re investigating?” he asked. “Remind me again why I shouldn’t tell Joe you’re looking for people setting off bombs?”

“Because you guys are the ones who are doing the actual investigating, and I’m just asking questions,” she pointed out. “Don’t forget, being True North as well as a reporter is a full-time job. You don’t get to be who I am by not being in the know.”

It was true. A few weeks ago it had been a bomb threat at the army base, where Bette used to work. The police had said that there was no further danger and the bomb squad had said the same, but she’d heard from somewhere that, well…the bomb had been _purple_. Then there was another one a few days ago, near Central City Military Hospital, which she was investigating today. And now another one had gone off. Iris didn’t think they were related – not yet – but two bomb attacks in four weeks, but without any obvious target or intention, was enough to pique the interest of someone who’d been investigating the weird and wonderful her whole life. Because she was still trying to find out who had killed Barry’s mother; though they were both swamped with work and his new powers and dealing with everyone knowing she was True North, it was at the back of her mind.

“Well, Barry and I will be heading out there to see what we can find,” he told her, shrugging. “But hopefully it’s nothing too strange. We’ve had enough of that – oh, here he is.”

Iris marvelled at the fact that Barry – who last night had run up the side of a building with lightning trailing behind him – could look so normal right now. But then, he always amazed her. Maybe she should be used to it by now. He grinned at them both. “Hey, guys. What’re you up to?”

“Iris wants to find out who’s been setting bombs,” Eddie said, and his grin turned into a frown.

“Seriously? Iris, that’s dangerous.”

“Eh, I live for danger,” she replied, shrugging. She rolled her eyes at his worried look and leaned up to kiss him. “Don’t worry, I’m being careful. I’ll see you guys later, okay?”

Iris left them then, before Barry could start worrying. Even though he said he was fine with her revealing her identity, that didn’t mean he wasn’t a little concerned that people came up to her in the street to fangirl over her or ask her questions. Besides, since they’d gotten together after she’d moved back to Central City from Gotham, he didn’t really know what it was like to be with her while she was investigating all the time. She bit her lip as she made her way down to the military hospital. She hoped Barry wasn’t too worried about her. She’d been doing this for years, after all.

Iris wasn’t expecting much from this, to be honest. Military hospitals were notoriously hard to get into, especially when you didn’t actually work there. Besides which, she was supposed to be at work, so she was just going to walk around and see what would make someone want to bomb it, and whether it could link to the other bomb attacks. It wasn’t too far away from work and she had the car today since she’d dropped Linda off at work before meeting Eddie, but her heart sank when she saw that not only was the entire area cordoned off, but they’d stepped up security. She could still _see_ where the bomb had gone off, but it was surrounded by a dozen soldiers while it was being repaired. Not to be deterred, iris subtle took a picture of it and then sent it to Felicity with the message _bomb attack – suspicious_? She was turning around to head back to her car when she bumped into a sanitation worker. “Oh, sorry, sir. I didn’t see you.”

“That’s okay, miss,” he shrugged lightly. He narrowed his eyes at her. “You don’t really look like you’re from around here. Wait, are you that reporter girl with the blog?”

“That’s me. Actually, I was looking into something that happened last week, the explosion here at the hospital? Do you happen to know anything about it?”

The worker hesitated and she waited patiently. There was always this gap, where someone had to decide whether to tell her something or not, and it was this moment that always changed the outcome of her investigation. She gave him her most honest, open face, and finally he decided something. “When something like this happens, there’s usually a full investigation into it and it usually lasts a few weeks. But that didn’t happen this time, and it was the same with the attack at the base a few miles away.”

Iris pressed, but he didn’t seem to want to say anything else, and she didn’t blame him. The last time she’d been here was when she found Eddie alone and crying out for Bette, but the atmosphere had been less than welcoming. She shuddered to think what would happen to this worker if they found anything more sinister than this.

Mason was in his usual grumpy mood when she got back to the office, and her own writers were busy with their own stuff, which left her alone to start doing some digging.

_Central City Army Base – bomb attack, no official investigation_

_Central City Military Hospital – bomb attack, no official investigation_.

Those two had an obvious link – the military. But this latest attack at the skyscraper downtown, what did that have to do with anything? She googled it and sighed when she came up with a list of things that were kept there, beginning to note them all down, and then her phone rang. “Iris West?”

“Hey, babydoll,” Felicity said cheerily. “Up to no good again?”

“You know me. So, is there anything you can tell me about that picture?”

“Barry and I already talked about this, actually – this bomb and the one at the army base had no oxidising agent.”

“What does that mean?” she asked even as she wrote it down in her notes.

“Well, that it spontaneously combusted without anything to provoke it. Plus, I hacked into Barry’s forensics reports-”

“Of course you did.”

“You have your hobbies, I have mine. Anyway, I hacked into his reports, and the residue left on the scene doesn’t match anything I’ve ever seen in a bomb before, and _I_ work with the Arrow.”

Iris bit her lip. Now, that last part, she couldn’t use in anything she wrote, because Felicity had committed a felony to get that information. But that didn’t mean she was up the creek without a paddle – in fact, she was more certain that there was something going on that was less on the gun store robbery side of crime and more on the hitman who can turn into mist side of crime.

“Okay, that helps,” she said finally. “Let me know if you find anything weirder.” She paused. “So, how are things with Mr Palmer?”

“Not…great. We broke up, actually,” she admitted.

“Oh honey, I am so sorry…”

“Yeah, apparently you can only pretend to be over certain brooding assholes for so long.”

Iris paused. “I can come down this weekend, if you-”

“No, don’t worry about it. Laurel is helping me work out some of my rage.”

“How”

“We hit things.”

***

Barry was still a little concerned about Iris when they arrived at the crime scene to see Joe already talking to someone and Jesse dutifully waiting for direction. “When Iris says she’s being careful,” he says, “she’s not just saying that to get me to shut up, is she?”

“Yes and no,” Eddie answered. “She wants you to shut up, yeah, but she really is being careful. I think the whole being kidnapped by the Dollmaker and being held hostage by the Calendar Man is making her be more careful. Besides, if you’re worried, you can just talk to her.”

“Uh-huh.”

Barry knew that Iris had been doing this since before they’d ever met, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t worried, especially because his girlfriend, despite her height, was about eighty percent bravado. When Joe had been attacked by the Mist, she’d been worried of course, but he was a cop and she was used to it. But then there was Captain Cold and Heatwave and that train, it could have so easily been Iris there, and he almost hadn’t saved everyone…

He shook his head, willing himself back to the present. He would talk to her. It would be fine. Besides, he apparently had bigger things to worry about. He and the others had decided that whenever he did something as the Streak they would leave it at heroics – so he saved the man and then left, knowing that the next day he’d be here, trying to figure out what had gone wrong.

“Hey, Barry,” Jesse greeted him, gloves already on. “What can I do?”

“Well, there was the place the bomb went off, and the place the perp was caught,” he explained. “Eddie says that the security guard saw the perp with some sort of duffle bag, probably where the bomb was. Now, seeing as you’ve never done something like that before, you’re going to do the clean-up.”

Jesse’s eyes widened. “R-Really? Are you sure?”

“I think you’re ready,” he said kindly. “Remember what I said about the debris and the fibres, and then when we meet we can see if we can figure out what kind of bomb it was.”

“O-Okay.”

Barry reassured Jesse and then watched as she strode off the get started, before nodding at Joe and Eddie as they walked up. Joe started reading from his notes. “So, same as before, random bomb going off. Though he did say the explosion was purple.”

“Purple? Again?”

“That’s right,” Eddie said as he led them to a different room. “This is where the perp was found. Leather jacket, red hair, and I’m guessing she wanted something from here.”

Barry looked around at the dozens of file cabinets. It would take hours to sort through this. “You’re kidding. This will take forever.”

“Eddie?” Jesse called. “I need your help with something.”

“It would take a _normal_ person forever,” Joe told him quietly as Eddie walked away to help Jesse. Barry rolled his eyes as Joe smiled at him and took a deep breath. “Make sure no one comes in here.”

Barry found him a few minutes later, pale and confused, the hand holding the file shaking. He pulled Joe away from the others. “I found what she was looking for.”

“What is it? You look terrified.”

“Yeah, well…this building apparently holds personnel files for all kinds of civil and military servants all over the city, and the only one that was missing…” Barry swallowed. “Sergeant Bette Sans Souci.”

Joe just stared at him. “Barry, Bette’s dead. Why would someone want her file?”

“I have no idea. Listen, what happened when she died? I know no one really wants to talk about it, but it could go a long way to knowing why some nameless bomber wants her file.”

Joe sighed and glanced at Eddie, who was laughing at something that Jesse was telling him. Barry could understand his apprehension. This time last year, Eddie was asking him whether he was going to make it to their engagement dinner, to which Barry of course replied that he would, because it was Bette and Eddie and he loved them. “It was…hectic. The day of explosion, Iris and Wally and Linda were with you, so I went there first. Then we got the call saying that we had to come in an identity the body. Liz – Eddie’s mom – went to go get Meloni and Christopher from the airport, and I went to talk to General Eiling, who then told me that her body was too badly burned from the blast to identity her properly, which is why we had a closed casket.”

Barry frowned. “But there _was_ a body.”

“Yeah, there was.”

“It’s just, if there was a fire, I could see no body, but an explosion? That would mean her body was gone altogether.”

Joe regarded him. “You think something’s up with this?” he asked slowly.

“I think that someone was willing to blow up this building to get information on Bette for whatever reason, even though her death was supposed to be an accident.”

“And with all the other attacks that have happened over the past couple of weeks, that’s too many coincidences for this old cop. What’s in the file?”

“Nothing, just her enlistment details and next of kin – Eddie, and some medical stuff that I can’t really make sense of. I’m thinking-”

“Caitlin.”

“Exactly, I want her to take a look before we start jumping to conclusions.”

But no sooner had they arrived at the station that they were beset by what looked like the whole city’s army regiment. Barry stared as he watched them march into the office and start talking to Captain Singh, who didn’t look too pleased. He felt someone tap his arm. “Barry?” Jesse asked, a little confused. “What’s going on?”

“I think the army are about to co-opt our investigation,” he told her, hefting the box he was holding, and wasn’t surprised to find out that he was right. No less than a few seconds after he said this, he witnessed the soldiers start packing up everything they’d brought with them from downtown. “Jesse, take everything you found upstairs, I’ll be there in a minute.”

She nodded and disappeared up to the labs as Joe and the captain came out, followed by a stern-looking man in army fatigues. “Allen, this is General Wade Eiling, and he will be taking over the investigation into the explosion on Spring Street.”

“I’d appreciate any help you could give us,” the general said, steel-grey eyes unwavering. Barry resisted the urge to wipe that smug look off his face.

“Barry, could you give the general all the relevant information for this investigation?” Joe said, giving him a meaningful look. “Oh, sure,” he said, handing over the box. Then, as they were all filing out of the precinct, Barry used his speed to get the file back. He clenched his jaw when he saw Eiling come face to face with Eddie as he came out of the bathroom. “Detective Thawne, it’s good to see you. How are you?”

Eddie folded his arms. “Fine, thank you. I see you’re taking over this investigation?”

“Just trying to keep this city safe.”

“What a jackass,” Barry muttered.

“I’ll say,” Joe agreed.

After they left, Barry decided he would see if Eddie wanted lunch, dropping the file off later in the day when he could swing by STAR Labs. After all, it couldn’t be easy seeing the man who had essentially caused your fiancée’s death swanning around your workplace like he owned it. Of course, that was when things started to go wrong.

“I just think it’s something she should consider,” Eddie said as they walked towards his car, and Barry laughed.

“Are you kidding? When we called, she dropped the phone. I had to say ‘Miss Lane, please hold for Iris West’, like I was her assistant or something. I don’t think she’s worked her way up to a coffee date yet. She’d die of embarrassment.”

“Duh,” he said. “I thought it would be funny. And then Wally and I could record the whole thing and laugh at her afterwards.”

“She would kill you.”

“Worth it.”

“Whatever you say. Hey, what’s with the daisies in the backseat?”

“I’m gonna go visit Bette later.”

The underground parking lot was largely vacant – it was just Eddie and Barry as they went to find the former’s car, and the only thing he could see was a woman striding out of the door at the far end. His was the only car in the row. And as soon as Barry got in, he noticed the purplish substance that was snaking across the windshield, and seeing as how his speed meant he could perceive things much faster than everyone else, he was able to speed them both out of the car. Eddie was staring at him in shock, sprawled on the floor, before his car exploded in short, sharp blast, sending debris everywhere.

“I knew it,” he said, even as sirens started blaring. “I _knew_ the Streak smiled at Iris.”

***

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine, you have concussion. That’s what the doctor said.”

Eddie scowled at Barry from his hospital bed. Really, they were lucky a concussion was their biggest problem. The car had largely disintegrated, so it could have been much worse, but it turned out that Eddie had hit his head when Barry was speeding him out of the car. The ambulance had driven them both to the hospital while Joe and Captain Singh tried to figure out what was going on.

“Besides, we’re not talking about me-”

“I really do think we should be talking about the guy who was almost blown up in his own car!”

“What about the guy who can run faster than the eye can see? And – Oh, god,” Eddie said suddenly. “You called Iris, didn’t you?”

Barry frowned. “Of course I called Iris. What’s the matter?”

“She’s here. Open the door.”

He obliged, still frowning. “How do you-”

“Eddie!” Iris practically screamed, flying at him through the open door about five seconds later. She enveloped him in a hug and immediately started fussing over him.

“How did you do that?”

“Call it instinct. Iris, I’m _fine_ , and shouldn’t you be worrying about Barry?”

“You are not fine, and Barry doesn’t have a concussion. Wait,” she said, turning to him. “Do you?”

“Nope.”

“Exactly. God, who did this to you? Because I will kick their ass, I swear to God.”

“Or maybe you could call the Streak?” Eddie asked, one eyebrow raised, and Iris stopped checking his temperature.

“Eddie, that – I mean-”

“Relax, Iris,” Barry said tiredly. “He knows.”

“How?”

“I had to get him out of the car before it blew up.”

“Because he’s the _Streak_ ,” Eddie said again. “I knew he was flirting with you, and – Barry, open the door.”

“What?”

“Linda’s here.”

Barry did as he was told – and then almost fell over in shock when Linda ran through it about three seconds later, Wally close behind her. “How are you doing this?”

“I told you, instinct.”

“I am going to kill whoever did this to you.”

“Lin,” Eddie said, laughing, “you guys, I’m _fine_.”

“You’re not fine!” everyone said together.

“Dude, you look like hell,” Wally added. “How’d you get out so fast?”

“Barry’s the Streak,” Eddie said absently, and Iris and Barry glared at him.

“EDDIE!”

“Oh, crap,” he said quickly. “Uh, sorry, concussion.”

Linda and Wally stared at Barry in disbelief. “Seriously? You’re the Streak? Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Oh, you’re one to talk,” Iris pointed out, and her brother rounded on her.

“What does that mean?”

“You guys really mean to tell us that you and Linda just happened to show up at the same time, when Barry only called the girls?” Eddie wanted to know. “You could just tell us you’re dating, it’ll make things a lot easier.”

“You mean you guys knew?”

“ _Everyone_ knows!” Eddie, Iris and Barry said. Barry waved a hand.

“That’s beside the point. Why would anyone want to hurt Eddie? I mean, no offence, but you’re kind of harmless.”

“Maybe it was someone who’s case he worked?” Wally suggested. “Like a revenge thing?”

“Yeah, but the explosion was like the one on Spring Street,” Linda pointed out. “Right? That’s what your dad said.”

Iris, for some reason, swallowed. “Barry, can I see you outside for a minute?”

She ignored everyone looking at her and pulled him into the hospital hallway, shutting the door behind them. “What is it?” he asked.

“Bar, I was looking up all the explosions that happened in the past few weeks – the one at the army base, the one at the military hospital, and the one at Spring Street last night. All of them have the same link – the military.”

“How?”

“The building you ran up last night stores military personnel files,” she explained, “but very specific ones – their medical records especially. Plus, it also shows any court martials or legal documents that they’d have associated with them. I’m thinking that someone wants information from there, maybe because of a crime they committed.”

“Well, I wouldn’t think that,” he disagreed. “Because the file that was missing was Bette’s.”

Iris’ eyes widened. “Our Bette? Bette Sans Souci?”

Barry pulled her away from the door. “Yeah, someone was looking for her file and got away with half of it. And then when we got back to the precinct General Eiling turned up and took everything we found. Not the file,” he added, “I took that away from them. But then someone puts a bomb in Eddie’s car…”

“But that doesn’t make any sense. Why would someone steal Bette’s file and then try to hurt Eddie?” Iris let out a breath and rubbed her face. “Like he hasn’t been through enough, I swear, I will kill-”

“It’s okay, Iris,” he assured her. “I’m taking the file to STAR Labs, see if Caitlin can figure it out. But I wanted you to see if you could convince Eddie that he needs a police escort until we figure out what’s going on.”

“Eddie’s not going to want that.”

“Which is why I called you _and_ Linda.”

Iris nodded. “Okay, sure. I can research and get Felicity on it before Liz gets here, and then I’ll go out and see if I can find some answers.”

Barry hesitated. “Well, I mean, you don’t _have_ to, the police are on it. _I’m_ on it.”

“I know that, Barry, but Eddie’s my family. I’m not going to let some nameless asshole try to kill him. Oh,” she said quickly, “don’t trust that Eiling guy.”

“Because he’s an asshole?”

“Well, yeah. But I was there when Eddie was in the military hospital, and they were really weird about letting him see Bette’s body. Plus, he was the one who kept moving her discharge date.”

Barry left after Liz turned up and took the file to STAR Labs, where Caitlin and Cisco were arguing about whether Captain Cold was a suitable name for a man dressed in a parka. “Hey speedy,” Cisco greeted him. “What’s up with the bomb going off last night? Did you find anything out?”

“Yeah, and I need your help,” he answered, shrugging off his jacket. “Caitlin, could you go through this? There’s a lot of medical jargon in there and I need to make sense of it.”

Caitlin shared a look with Cisco and frowned at his serious look, holding her hand out for the file. “Uh, sure. Well, it looks like a standard medical history…Barry, this is Bette’s file.”

“Yeah, I know. I think whoever was stealing from that building got away with the military part though.”

“And as soon as I’m done reading this, you’re going to tell me why you look like you’re about to throw up,” she said evenly. “Okay, this is what happened in Afghanistan, what they did to stabilise her, the flight back stateside, the surgical plan, the explosion…wait.”

“What?” Cisco and Barry asked.

“Well, this goes on past the date she died,” she told them. “Look, here’s the date of the explosion, but the last time they operated on her was four months ago.”

“They operated on a dead body?” Cisco wanted to know as Caitlin kept reading. “Do we have a _The Walking Dead_ situation on our hands?”

“Guys.” Caitlin’s voice was like a chill wind. “We need to get Dr Wells down here, _right now_. Barry, what the hell is going on?”

Barry looked between them and sighed. “Someone put a bomb in Eddie’s car today, and we think it might have something to do with Bette. What did you find?”

“Something that tells me that he could be in a lot of danger, and-”

“Whoa, people,” Cisco said, clicking at the monitor. “Bomb signature on Fifth Street, the medical offices on the third floor. Maybe it’s our bomber girl?”

Barry was in his suit and there in a second, looking up and down the alleyway. “Guys? Am I – Oh shit!”

“What? What is it?”

“Sirens,” he breathed. “I think the army’s on their way, and I can’t find her.”

But then he saw someone in a leather jacket sprint down the fire escape on his left, and he flashed up next to them. Before he could see their face, however, she swipes her legs under him and knocks him over, before leaping off the side of the fire escape. And Barry has a flashback to almost two years ago, when he was boxing with Eddie and his friend said he’d met the girl he wanted to marry. But that couldn’t be right.

Could it?

He ran quickly to the ground, blocking her exit, even as the sirens grew closer. “Bette?”

She froze, turning. “Who wants to know?”

“It’s me!” he says, surging forward, pulling off his mask, smiling in disbelief. “It’s Barry, Barry Allen! God, Bette, I can’t believe you’re alive! Come on, I’ll take you back home.”

“ _No_!”

Barry made to grab her hand and she yanked it away, but not before a purplish substance started to grow on his glove. He stared. “Bette?”

“Get whatever you’re wearing off you,” she said desperately. “ _Now_.”

***

When Eddie sprained his ankle as a teenager one summer, he thought he’d be bored out of his mind, since he couldn’t play football or go running or practice kickboxing. That is, until he realised that both Linda and Iris had been born with the natural inclination to mother, which meant entertaining him, feeding him, and fussing over him. This hadn’t disappeared with time, which is how he found himself wrapped in blankets on the couch with a plate of chicken pot pie in his hands.

“Iris,” he said desperately. “I told you, I’m fine.”

“You _will_ be fine,” she told him, fluffing his pillows, “once Linda gets back with more bandages and your prescription. You’re not feeling dizzy, are you?”

“I haven’t moved from this couch in an hour!”

“Still. How’s your pie, do you want more? Because we can make more-”

“Iris, stop trying to distract me with pie. I want to know what’s going on.”

She bit her lip. “Don’t get mad.”

He eyed her warily. “Why would I be mad?”

“Well, technically your life was threatened, so you’re, um, kind of, sort of on leave, just until they can figure it out.”

“ _What_?” he demanded, and then groaned in pain.

“See?” she said, offering him some water and a painkiller. “It’s for the best, okay? Just until we know you’re safe. Besides, we’ve got…friends on it, too.”

“Right,” he said, swallowing his pills. “What’s it like dating the fastest man alive? Must be awful for you guys in bed, right?”

“Eddie.”

“Come on, I have a concussion and I almost died today. Let me have my dirty jokes.”

Iris just laughed at his smile, which was so open and honest and _Eddie_ that it left her with renewed vigour to find whoever had tried to hurt him. Her phone rang then and she left him eating to answer it, standing by the window and looking outside at the police escort. “Hello?”

“It’s me.”

“Barry! Is everything okay? I heard there was another bomb attack.”

“Yes,” he sighed. “And no. Listen, are you with Eddie? How’s he doing?”

“He’s okay, all things considered.”

“Is he okay to move?”

“Why?”

Iris told him, and she almost dropped the phone. “O-Okay,” she breathed. “Yeah, I’ll tell him. Uh, Eddie?”

“What’s the matter?” he asked, alarmed. “What happened?”

“We need to get to STAR Labs.”

***

“Explain again,” Cisco said slowly, “how this happened?”

“It was an accident.”

“It better have been, man.”

“It’s a _suit_ , Cisco.”

“I’m sorry,” Bette said quietly. “I didn’t know they were so expensive.”

Barry still found it odd that Bette was standing in front of them, albeit with every inch of her skin covered so she didn’t blow anything up. Because that was what she did now, she could blow things up. He’d gotten out of his suit without a second to spare before it blew up, and she’d looked around frantically for a way out as the army drew closer. “We can help you,” he’d blurted out. “Caitlin and Cisco and Dr Wells, they can help. Just come with me, _please_.”

“No, it’s too dangerous.”

So he played his trump card. “You can see Eddie.”

And now she was here, but only because he’d promised to call Iris to get Eddie here. She was on her way with him, freaked out, but on her way. They all stood in a circle as Bette sat on a bed, her black gloves encasing her fingers.

“Sorry,” Cisco said. “I wasn’t thinking. I’m glad to have you back, Bette. Seriously, I’d hug the shit out of you, but-”

“No, I get it,” she laughed quietly. “I’m not exactly prime huggable material.”

“Bette, your file, what I read…” Caitlin shook her head. “What happened to you?”

“I’ve been trying to find that out myself. The night of the explosion was the operation,” she explained, “and then I woke up. Except I didn’t. They me in this kind of cold chamber, and that’s when the…experiments started.”

“Experiments?” Barry breathed. “Who did that to you?”

“Eiling, and a man called Dr Harold Hadley,” she answered. “I don’t know what they were trying to do, only that I’d wake up, disoriented on a surgical table, and then they’d put me back to sleep. Or, they called it-”

“Suspended animation,” Caitlin said. “They were freezing everything vital so it wouldn’t decay, but you couldn’t live, either.”

“Right. Eventually they stopped, but they kept me locked up. I managed to escape and left Coast City to come here, to figure out what happened to me.”

“Bette,” Dr Wells said, wheeling forward, “from what I’ve read from your medical report, the Particle Accelerator explosion had adverse effects on you because of the shrapnel in your body. Now that you’re safe, we should-”

“Eddie! Eddie, slow down!”

“Where is she? I want to see her, where is she?”

“Eddie, your concussion-”

“ _I want to see Bette_!”

“That’s Iris,” Barry said quickly. Bette stood as she heard Eddie’s voice, her hands going to her mouth. “And Eddie. Bette-”

“He’s hurt because of me,” she said, her voice breaking. “Isn’t he?”

“Well,” Cisco started, and then shut up as Caitlin glared at him. Eddie barrelled into the room in the next second, Iris close behind him, and Barry could swear that for the two of them, everyone else disappeared. Eddie was practically shaking. “Bette? Bette, baby?”

“Eddie, I’m sorry,” Bette said, her face crumpling. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry-”

“It’s okay, you-”

Eddie made to run towards her but Barry appeared in front of him, grabbing him by the shoulders. “No, you don’t want to do that.”

“Why not?” he snapped, trying to shake Iris off him as well.

“Detective.” Dr Wells was the one to answer. “It appears that your fiancée has been adversely affected by the Particle Accelerator in much the same way that the other metahumans were. Apparently those we thought dead appear not to be so.”

“Not everyone,” Caitlin said quietly, though only Barry heard her.

“What are you talking about?” Eddie demanded, still trying to get past Barry and away from Iris. Caitlin cleared her throat.

“Essentially, she’s a human bomb. From what I can see, it’s triggered by tactile contact.”

“So I can’t…I can’t touch her?”

Bette dropped her head into her hands and Iris and Cisco looked around helplessly. Caitlin didn’t answer, instead walking to the weapons cabinet, pulling out a box. “Not necessarily. The bomb squad use these, so I figure they’ll be able to stop you from, well…”

“Kaboom,” Cisco supplied helpfully.

“Yes. Kaboom.”

Bette caught the gloves with shaking hands and pulled them on while everyone watched, breaths caught in their throats. Then with a shaking breath, she placed the gloved hand on the table and waited. “Oh, thank god,” she said, when nothing happened, and Eddie broke free of both Barry and Iris to run towards her, grabbing her gloved hands and trying to comfort her as best he could without touching her skin. Barry cleared his throat. “We should give them some privacy,” he said. “But-”

“I will make sure they are both safe,” Dr Wells told them, wheeling behind the terminal. “One head is more discreet than five.”

Once they were out in the hallway, they all started talking at once. “Everyone stop,” Barry ordered. “One step at a time. First thing, the explosion at the precinct.”

“I think they’ll already be on their way there to take over the investigation,” Iris told them. “If they’re trying to keep Bette’s powers under wraps, that is.”

“They’ll be tracking her,” Cisco said, and she hummed thoughtfully.

“Okay, how about this? You put some sort of device on Eiling, and then whenever he gets close, Barry…”

“Can get in and speed Bette somewhere safe,” Barry finished. “I can get the device on him, too. Cisco?”

“Already got a dozen bad boys like what you’re looking for,” he said confidently. “And I’ll make you some extra for his lackeys, too.”

“Great,” Caitlin nodded. She glanced back to where Eddie and Bette were tearfully talking. “I need to run some tests on her, and they’ll probably take all night. I think someone should stay with Eddie, keep him calm, you know? Hopefully we’ll have some answers tomorrow.”

“Iris?” Barry asked, and she nodded. “I’ll let Linda know what’s going on, but not Liz, it’ll be a little too much. But we’ll look after him.” She paused. “You think they’re going to be okay?”

Caitlin sighed. “I hope so.”

***

Iris looked up at the hospital, moonlight cast over its stone and metal buildings, wondering what went on inside. This was supposed to be the place where Bette died, not the place that cut her open and made her…made her unable to touch Eddie or see her loved ones or make her so afraid of herself that she couldn’t even show her face. Bette was sleeping now, according to Caitlin, and Eddie was back home with his mother and the police escort surrounding him. Everything seemed fine, so far, but Barry had been nervous on the phone because they had no idea what would happen next. She sighed. She didn’t even know why she was here. The bulk of the experimentation had gone on in Coast City, anyway. She supposed, that with Dawn and Felicity and Linda, it wasn’t in her nature to leave well enough alone when it came to her loved ones. Maybe if-

“It’s really hard being Central City’s hero,” a distorted, albeit familiar, voice said, “when Central City’s citizens keep getting into trouble.”

Once she’d gotten used to the change in position and her breath back, she smiled, looking out onto the city spread out below her like a brightly-coloured map. Of course Barry followed her and of course he thought she was putting herself in danger. Barry always worried about her, and it hadn’t gotten more annoying than sweet.

Yet.

He wasn’t next to her, though, he was way back in the shadows. She could see the outline of his suit, and when she looked around she recognised that they were on the roof of Jitters. Fine. She turned back to the city.

“Central City’s heroes aren’t only guys with red leather and lightning, you know,” she called. “Some of us have knee-high boots and pens.”

“I’m aware of that, Miss West,” he said, and she got a little thrill at the way he said that, at the way her name sounded coming out in that distorted voice. “I’m just doing my job. Or are you saying that there’s no one who wouldn’t be upset if you got hurt?”

“My dad,” she admitted, leaning into the wind, still not facing him. “My brother, my two best friends. And my boyfriend.”

“Oh, yeah?” he questioned. “What’s he like?”

“He’s…You know that feeling on like a Sunday afternoon before school or work or whatever, and the sun’s out and you just spend your day thinking nothing could ever go wrong? That’s what it’s like with him.”

Iris laughed because she knew that Barry was blushing in that adorable way that he did, even though he was literally up here in leather with freaking _superpowers_. “What about you? You got a person like that?”

“I do,” he said sincerely. She felt rather than saw him speed down to her level, though he was still a little way away. Her breath hitched, but she kept her eyes trained on the city.

“What’s she like?”

“I’m a scientist, you know that?”

“No, you’ve never told me that.”

“Well, I am. And one of the first things they tell you is that everything can be explained by science,” he continued. He walked towards her, his leather shoes soft on the concrete. “Everything, from what you’re feeling, to why you get all happy when you eat your favourite food.”

He was behind her now, not close, but close enough. “And I always say that watching her is like watching the stars, but here’s the thing. Watching her _is_ like watching the stars, like you see it once and wait your whole life just so you can see them again, because they’re that beautiful. But I think scientists spoke a little too soon.”

Iris could feel Barry breathing on her, could feel his heat through the suit, but she still didn’t turn around. “Because whenever I see her smile, I think, ‘man, that cannot be science’.”

She let out a deep breath, feeling her skin prickle with anticipation. Really, how was her boyfriend such a dork? And how did she love him so much?

Without a word, Iris spun around, and crushed her lips to his. Barry responded immediately, pulling her into him, and then suddenly her back was against a cold brick wall as Barry hefted her up.

“Wait,” she gasped, her hands on his chest, and he let out a low moan.

“Yeah, not really an option…”

“I just – Oh!” she said suddenly, feeling him press against her through the suit. “Barry _Allen_.”

“Fastest man alive, remember?”

“Is it all going to be that fast?”

Barry rolled his eyes and Iris reached up to yank his mask off his face. “That’s all I wanted to do, you idiot. Besides, we don’t-”

But Barry was already ahead of her, and had a condom around his length before she could say anything. “I’m pretty sure,” Iris breathed as Barry started rubbing a finger against her underwear, “Cisco didn’t design the suit for holding condoms.”

“I seem to remember that Iris West likes to have sex at inopportune times in inappropriate places.”

“Okay, yeah, we’re on a roof,” she said, between kisses. “ _Very_ public place. You know what that means?”

“Don’t get caught by the cameras.”

“Yes. But also…” She used his shoulders for leverage and then sank down on him, grinning when she saw his face drawn tight with desire. “We’re going to have to be really quiet.”

“Oh, you’re one to – _talk_ ,” he hissed as she squeezed her inner muscles around him. “Miss ‘Wake My Neighbours With The Word Barry’.”

“I am not that loud!” she whispered furiously even as she tightened her legs around him. He moved his hips in slow circles and used the wall to balance, and Iris bit her lip. Really, when Barry did that, the grinding thing, and the way he held her, how did he expect her not to scream.

“I’ve got a tape of us at CCPN that says otherwise,” he continued, grazing his teeth against her neck. “Besides, I can do _this_.”

Iris had to bite into his neck to stop Central City from finding out that Iris West was currently having sex with the Flash on the roof of Jitters. Her orgasm came fast and relentless, shaking out of her as she gripped Barry’s shoulders hard enough to leave marks probably through the leather. Because Barry’s – he could –

“ _You can vibrate_?” she gasped out. “That – I _hate_ you. Put your pants back on.”

Barry pouted at her. “Why?”

“Because you are taking me home and we’re doing that somewhere I can make as much noise as I want.”

***

Barry spent the next day on tenterhooks, waiting patiently for when he’d be allowed to leave work and go to STAR Labs. Eddie was with Iris, whose job it was to stop him from going crazy because they were both waiting for the same call. Caitlin had called exactly once to say they could come at six, and that all her tests said that Bette wasn’t in any immediate danger. Beyond that, though, she wouldn’t say.

He looked over Jesse’s findings from the day before, which really confirmed everything that Caitlin and Dr Wells said. The bomb had traces of shrapnel it in, probably the same kind that was in Bette when the bomb went off. He went downstairs to file it with the case – a precaution, since the army had taken over – and ran into Joe. “Hey, Bar. How’s everything going?”

“Still waiting,” he answered quietly. Joe knew everything, since Eddie wanted him to. Barry never stopped marvelling at how he took everything in stride.

“They took over the investigation of the bomb from yesterday,” he said, sipping his coffee. “How much do you want to bet we never find out who did it?”

“Well, considering what he did to Bette, that sounds like something they would do.”

“Let me know how everything goes,” he continued. Then he frowned. “Barry, what happened to your neck?”

Barry frowned, his hand going to his neck, and then tried not to blush. Ever since he learned he could vibrate his face to a blur, he’d been experimenting, and – well, they were both lucky that Joe couldn’t see his neck and shoulders. “That – a rash. It’s just a rash.”

Joe looked like he didn’t believe him, but he was saved from having to explain himself by the phone ringing. “That’s Caitlin,” he said quickly, heading back up to get his stuff, “I’ll keep you posted!”

“She loves him, you can’t shoot him,” Joe muttered to himself, sipping his coffee.

***

Iris and Eddie got there before Barry did – though he suspected that his friend had essentially camped out outside STAR Labs so he could be there first. They were gathered around Bette on a bed, and Eddie went straight there to sit next to her, taking her hands because it was all he was allowed. Barry knew, though, from the way Caitlin stood and Cisco’s face and Dr Wells’ sad seriousness, that something was wrong.

“I’m glad you guys are here,” Bette said, though she didn’t take her eyes off Eddie. “I think they were about to give me the not so good news.”

“You’ve finished your tests?” Eddie asked, and Dr Wells nodded.

“We found that the shrapnel from the bomb has spliced with your DNA on a cellular level,” he said. “It’s created…

“The ability to create bombs with four-hundred and fifty kPas, with a Trauzl rating of forty-five,” Cisco explained. “The same as any plastique. Hey, Plastique! I – sorry.”

“Which explains,” Dr Wells, continued, “why everything blows up on contact. Ideally we’d separate the shrapnel from the bomb, but the technology to do so…it hasn’t been invented yet.”

The room was silent, apart from everyone’s shocked breathing. Eddie was staring at Dr Wells, Cisco and Iris were looking at the floor, Barry had his arms around himself, and Caitlin was looking at Bette. “Bette,” Barry said slowly, and Eddie shook his head.

“No. _No_ ,” he said forcefully. “There has to be another way. You…You can’t do anything?”

“Eddie, it’s okay,” she said, even though she was crying. “They did all they could-”

“No,” Caitlin said absently, still staring at her. “We haven’t.”

“What do you mean?” Cisco asked.

“I mean we’ve been looking at this all wrong,” she said, shaking her head. She walked over to the board and started drawing lots of molecular compositions on the board. “We should be working around it, not getting rid of it. These are Bette’s cells – and this is the shrapnel that’s fused with it. They’re fused, which is why when Bette gets her DNA on something else, it explodes. But,” she added, “we’re forgetting there’s material to withstand bombs. When you have planes, and they’re supposed to record the information from a crash or explosion, you use-”

“A black box!” Cisco said. “Caitlin, you’re a genius!”

“I’m confused,” Eddie said. “You want to put a black box inside her?”

“No, I want to create a synthetic version and splice it with her cells so it prevents the explosion from happening.”

Bette choked. “Is that all?”

“Can you guys even do that?” Iris added. Caitlin turned to Dr Wells, who thought for a moment.

“We are quite well-equipped, despite reports, and it’s certainly possible. The time taken to grow the material, ready for the splicing, inject it in Bette…two weeks, give or take.”

“And if we’re successful,” Caitlin said triumphantly, “no more kaboom. That is, if you guys want to.”

Bette and Eddie looked at each other and made the decision with their eyes, probably in the way that only couples that knew each other well could. “We want to.”

“Awesome!” Cisco grinned, high-fiving Caitlin, and Iris and Barry smiled at each other before they heard a loud beeping noise. Cisco ran over to the terminals, his black hair bouncing, and cursed. “Uh-oh. Eiling and lackeys, less than a mile away.”

“Shit,” Iris snapped. “We have to get them both out.”

“Take them to my house,” Cisco suggested. “It’s the last place they’ll look.”

Barry didn’t need to be told twice, and Bette and Eddie were in Cisco’s apartment by the time he’d finished the sentence. When Barry got back, out of breath, he was looking at him. “Ah. You don’t think they’re the type to touch priceless Star Wars memorabilia, do you?”

“I didn’t have time to ask, Cisco.”

“I’m just saying some of that stuff-”

“Look alive,” Caitlin said quickly. The elevator doors opened, and then the room was filled with soldiers. Barry tried not to scowl too deeply at General Eiling and was thankful for Dr Wells’ perpetual calm. “General. To what do we owe the pleasure?”

“Oh, I was simply curious about what you might be hiding,” he said pleasantly, “here in this…facility of yours.”

“Hiding? We aren’t hiding anything.”

“Well, I’m curious to know what a CSI and a journalist are doing in a scientific research facility.”

Iris didn’t seem fazed that Eiling knew who they were, but he was, and he didn’t like it at all. “Research,” Caitlin answered coolly. He raised an eyebrow.

“Oh?”

“Barry was struck by lightning and recently emerged from a nine-month coma. As it stands, he is suffering from a condition that I’ve deemed lightning psychosis, which manifests as increased metabolism, fatigue, and aversion to alcohol.”

“Oh, yeah,” Barry added in a hard voice. “It’s terrible. You don’t wanna mess with me.”

“Well, I look forward to hearing about that in all the journals. Maybe you can help me, though – I seem to have misplaced one of my…assets in mysterious circumstances. Miss West,” he said, turning to her. “You specialise in the mysterious, perhaps you can help?”

“General,” she replied, unaware that Barry was about five seconds away from punching him. “I do indeed specialise in the mysterious, but if you want to know what I’m up to, you’ll have to read it in the paper like anyone else.”

He regarded them all for a minute. “I see. I do think it prudent to tell you, if I find that any of you were involved in this, I can make life very hard for all of you.”

“I’m sure, General,” Dr Wells said. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, those scientific journals don’t write themselves.

***

“What an asshole,” Wally said later that night.

Linda, Iris and Barry made noises of agreement. They were gathered in the girls’ apartment after leaving STAR Labs, and had just finished explaining everything that had happened over pizza.

“How’s Eddie?” he continued.

“Better,” Linda admitted. “He’s allowed back to work, and with this thing that Caitlin is trying, he seems really optimistic. If she can pull it off…”

“She’ll pull it off,” Barry said confidently. “With the way her mind works sometimes, I’d be surprised if she weren’t a metahuman.”

“Our biggest problem?” Iris added. “Eiling. I have no idea how we’re going to deal with him.”

“Deal with him?”

“Yeah. I mean, he most have broken a dozen federal laws, not to mention military ones. There has to be some way we can get him.”

“Iris, you can’t be serious,” Barry spluttered. She blinked at him.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because he threatened you!”

“So?”

“He’s a general in the army!”

“Who almost killed one of our friends!”

“I think we should go,” Linda said quickly, holding her hand out to Wally.

“Uh, yeah,” he said. “See you guys later.”

Iris waited until they left before continuing. “Barry, we can’t let him get away with this. You don’t seriously think we should just sit back, do you?”

“Of course not,” he scoffed. “But he’s dangerous and he’s got a lot of power.”

“I’ve gone up against powerful, dangerous things before.”

“Yeah, and look what happened? You got kidnapped by the Dollmaker!”

She set her jaw. “That won’t happen again.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because it won’t.”

“That’s not a reason.”

“It’s reason enough for me.”

“Well, it isn’t for me.”

“Who, the Streak?” she snapped. “Or my boyfriend? I can’t tell which, they’re both wearing their ‘overprotective asshole’ hat today.”

“Says the arrogant and careless True North,” he snapped back. “Or my girlfriend. But, you know. Can’t tell which.”

Iris folded her arms and looked away. “I think you should go.”

“Yeah,” he muttered, shaking his head, “maybe I should.”

Barry strode out and slammed the door behind him, and Iris jumped up and cleaned the room in a hurry, barely thinking. And when Linda found her crying a few minutes later, she couldn’t explain it, only that there was a hole in her chest. Barry, running at top speed hundreds of miles away, felt the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know what you think. also, if you haven't seen the chapter edit, just letting you know this story will be ending in a few chapters.


	27. The Flash Is Born

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Iris gives Barry a new name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have no excuse, this should have been earlier. (ok i started smallville) but i hope you like it anyway!

_Hey everyone,_

_This blog still lives, even though you all know it’s me, mostly because you guys still keep sending me messages. Thanks for those, by the way – although everyone in this city knows I’m the only one crazy enough to go after men called Captain Cold and Heatwave (yes, Cisco, you win. Can I have my iPod back now?)_

_Nothing much to report, except everything continues to be weird here in Central City. Almost makes me wish I was back in Gotham. Almost._

_I’m still getting messages about parademons, guys, but I don’t know anything about them apart from that picture James Olsen took years ago (linking for those who’ve been living under rocks). I haven’t seen any here, but I guess I’ll keep an eye out._

_In ‘impossible’ news, it looks like we have a new vigilante in Star City. The Black Canary joins the Green Arrow in the fight to rid the city of criminals by night. When asked about why she chose to don a mask a la the Emerald Archer, she said that she chose to become the justice people can’t run from._

_Bad. Ass._

_And finally, it seems like our favourite Scarlet Speedster is on a winning streak (haha), managing to prevent a boat crash, save all of the employees in the Wayne Industries building, and assist the Green Arrow in his fight against Double Down, the metahuman known for throwing knives. Heroes, much like journalists on coffee, never sleep, apparently._

_Signing off._

_As always, believe in the impossible,_

_True North_

 

Iris looked over the blog post once more. She’d published it about an hour ago and she’d already gotten questions about certain things – whether she knew who the Black Canary was, was she going to write about every superhero on the west coast, and what was she going to do about the Streak’s name. Of course she knew that it was Laurel and she was even thinking about coming up with a sobriquet like Scarlet Speedster or Emerald Archer (Linda had suggested ‘Bitchin’ Birdie’, but she wasn’t sure she would be allowed to print that), but she wasn’t going to tell anyone that. Laurel was just managing to get her footing as ADA and this would help her work out some of her rage about Sara.

As for whether she was going to write about every superhero on the West Coast, that was apparently true. She’d already written about the Streak, the Green Lantern, the Green Arrow, and the Black Canary. Some people even wanted her to write about Aquaman, even though she’d never even seen him before, or Cyborg, even though he was just an urban legend and she was fairly certain he lived in Michigan. Besides, she had so much work she couldn’t devote all her resources to talking about people who ran around in leather for justice.

Her heart tightened a little when she read the question about the Streak, though.

It had been a week since their fight, and she and Barry had barely spoken since. They’d talked when they had visited Bette, when Caitlin had injected her with the serum that was supposed to mean she could touch things without blowing them up, and once when she was visiting Wally at work and he was there with Cisco throwing things off a ledge with Johnny, but not much since.

Iris knew she was being stubborn, but – well, he was being stubborn, too. She had faced down the Dollmaker, the Ventriloquist, and the Scarecrow, as well as many other weird and wonderful things that got her to where she was today. Things that made _him_ the biggest supporter of her blog, and that made him want to ask her to look into his mom’s case. He had no right to be so patronising.

All of this pride was easy when she was irritated with him, or when she’d had a bad day, but right now, when she was alone in her apartment and she wanted to text him about the fact that Lois Lane had called her to talk about her article on Dawn and the Dollmaker, and Linda was out with Wally, and her dad was working late, it was a lot harder. But she wasn’t apologising because she was sure she was right, and apparently neither was he, so all that was left was to guess who was going to buckle first.

***

Barry ran as fast as he could to the scene of the crime, lightning trailing out behind him. Eddie had called him a few seconds before with news of a joyrider in a yellow Humvee apparently intent on wrecking all the roads in Central City.

“What kind of tool steals a yellow Humvee?” Barry had demanded.

“What kind of tool _buys_ a yellow Humvee?” Eddie had countered.

So he’d run to the empty STAR Labs to change into his suit and now he was looking for them using Eddie’s instructions and the satellite navigation that Cisco had installed. When he arrived he could see it crashing through traffic like a battering ram, and Joe and Eddie were trying to get everyone back. As he watched, Joe spotted something beyond him and started waving frantically, and Barry turned to see a kid walking in the street, completely oblivious to everything and everyone around him because of his headphones. Barry hurtled into him, saving him from the path of the car by a hair’s breadth, and dropping him by a chain link fence.

When he looked back, Joe and Eddie were shooting at the guy in the car, who was loudly blaring music and whooping wildly as he drove.

 _Great_ , Barry thought to himself, _joyriding driver’s an asshole. I love Mondays_.

“Hey!” Eddie shouted as he shot. “Get out of the vehicle, right now!”

But the driver was advancing on him, and just as Eddie realised that he showed no signs of stopping Joe shoved him out of the way and onto the floor. The Humvee crashed through the barriers, leaving splintered wood everywhere, and Barry took that as his cue. He raced past the car, removing the wind mirrors, and came to a stop in shadow in front of it. “Step out of the vehicle,” he ordered, his voice distorted.

The Humvee stopped and Barry saw the figure inside put his hands up. “Whatever you say.”

Then he gasped as the door buckled and whined, and then the car door came away in his hand and he was jumping down from the car. He was dressed in a green sleeveless shirt and jeans, and he was grinning. Suddenly he hurled the car door at him with enough force that it shattered the wall as Barry ducked under it. _Shit_. Before he could do anything else, Barry stepped forward and punched him…just in time for his jaw to turn to metal. Barry’s hand clanged off it, bent at an unnatural angle, and he wheezed in pain.

“ _Aargh_ ,” he gasped, and looked up at the man made of metal, still clutching his hand. He picked him up and threw him over the car so that he landed on his side, rolling around in agony.

“Oh, for real?”

The man came to crouch next to him. “Looks like you were born to take a beating.”

Barry flashed away before he could pound his fist into his face this time, and back to STAR Labs.

“What,” Dr Wells said when Caitlin had him on a bed, “exactly, did you hit?”

Barry shook his head. They’d found him on the floor, barely conscious and clutching his wrist as best he could without damaging it. “A bad man,” he replied as Caitlin set his hand. “A very bad man.”

“Made of what, titanium?” Cisco asked, studying his films. “Your hand’s shattered.”

“Something like that. I don’t know, when I tried to hit him, his face transformed into some kind of metal.”

“Interesting,” Dr Wells said thoughtfully. “A man of steel.”

“Superman would be proud,” Barry said, sitting up. “How do we stop him before he hurts anyone else?”

“That is a question for another day and healed bones. Tonight, Mr Allen, you rest.”

As they suspected he was fine in the morning, which made it a lot easier to write his reports the next day. He got an email alert and clicked on it without thinking, and then was faced with the familiar font of Iris’ blog. He smiled when he saw Laurel’s new creed – _the justice you can’t run from_ – and was glad she had picked black for her costume to show she was mourning Sara. He didn’t know why people in Metropolis and National City were so concerned with parademons all of a sudden, either, but he figured people were just freaking out because of all the weird stuff that had been happening in this city. And his heart stuttered a little when he noticed that she was still writing about him.

He shook his head. Of course she was still writing with him – just because they were fighting doesn’t mean she was going to stop doing her job. He’d even given her some quotes about what he’d been doing, but he was stubborn about it and so was she, and he knew her well enough to know she wasn’t going to apologise and he damn sure wasn’t either, so it was a week and they still weren’t talking. Whatever. Iris was just going to have to accept that she was wrong. Just because she’d been lucky before didn’t mean it would hold; besides, they were dealing with a lot more than just corrupt judges and criminals with grudges. In the past month and a half alone he’d faced a man who could turn into mist, another who could control the weather, and one who could multiply himself, all of whom had tried to kill him. Eventually Iris would see things his way.

Barry made his way downstairs, where everyone was having a meeting about what had happened last night. He walked up to Eddie and Joe just as they were finishing. “Hey, guys. Any idea who our steel-plated sociopath is?”

“Running him through the database now,” Joe explained. “What happened to you last night?”

“Thirteen fractures,” he replied. “New record, according to Caitlin. Hey, I think it’s done.”

They looked up at the picture that comes up – Barry didn’t recognise it, but both Joe and Eddie gasp. “What?” Barry demanded. “What is it?”

“That’s Tony Woodward,” Joe explained. “He went to high school with Eddie and Iris.”

“No way, Woodward? I thought he was in juvie.”

“Guess he got out,” Joe sighed. “And now he’s stealing Humvees. Alright, let’s see if we can get going on this, Singh wants us to go back to the scene and see if we can pull anything interesting. Barry, get your gear. Wheel’s up in ten.”

They both nodded as Joe walked off, and Barry was just about to ask him about Bette when they heard someone clear their throat. Eddie grinned. “Iris, hey. What’s up?”

“Hey,” she said quietly. She nodded at him briefly and he did the same before folding his arms. “I just wanted to ask you how you were doing before I went to work – Caitlin told me that they should know how Bette’s doing in the next couple of days.”

“I’m great,” he said carefully. “Trying not to be too hopeful, but-”

“Forget about that, she’ll be fine,” Bary grinned, punching him lightly.

“Right,” Iris continued. She glanced at Barry, her voice carefully neutral. “And I heard the Streak saved a kid from being hit by a car yesterday. Anything to add before I publish?”

“No, that’s pretty much it,” he replied, looking at his shoes.

“Right,” Eddie said slowly, looking between the two of them. He folded his arms. “But you can’t write anything yet, Barry and I are going out to try and figure out what’s going on with this guy.”

“Good,” Iris said, still not looking at Barry. “That’s a good idea.”

“That’s us, full of good ideas,” Barry agreed. Eddie narrowed his eyes.

“Anything going on between you two?”

“No,” they said together, still not looking at each other. Iris straightened her jacket. “Anyway, I have to go. I’ll see you both later.”

“See you,” they said. Once Iris was out of earshot, Eddie turned back to Barry. “Are you two still fighting?”

“Guess so,” he sighed as they walked back to his lab. “She keeps doing all this dangerous stuff, and she won’t listen to me when I tell her to be careful.”

“Okay, Barry, you know we’re friends, and I usually take the opposite side to Iris just to piss her off, but maybe you could see things from her point of view?”

“I know what her point of view is, Eddie,” he replied tiredly. He scooped up his gear. “She thinks I’m being a patronising asshole for trying to protect her – look, maybe I am. In fact, I’m probably the biggest asshole on the planet right now, at least to her. But this city is full of crazy things now, and I’d rather be an asshole than someone who lost his girlfriend to a giant telepathic gorilla or something.”

Eddie frowned. “Is that – is that a thing?”

“No, of course not,” Barry said dismissively, “that was a hypothetical. A telepathic gorilla, really? But like I said, I already lost my mom to the impossible. I’m not losing Iris to it, too.”

“I get that, Barry,” Eddie said quietly. “Believe me, every time Bette left to go dismantle a bomb or teach a class or go on another tour, I always worried. But this is them, this is what they do, and we have to believe they’ll always come back.” He shrugged. “Look, I’m not telling you how to run your relationship. I just think this one might require a little compromise. And, if we don’t hustle soon, it won’t matter that we’re always worried about our girlfriends, because Joe will have our asses.”

“Good point.”

***

“The Excellence in Sport Media Award,” Iris said, reading over the letter. She grinned at Linda. “You must be very proud.”

Linda shrugged her shoulders and flicked her hair in faux modesty. “Well, when you expose drug-smuggling rings in national baseball teams, what choice to they have?”

“When’s the ceremony?”

“About a month, I think. Early November?”

“No!” Iris said ruefully. “You’ll miss the Daily Planet’s journalism conferences in Metropolis! I’ve never gone, I thought we’d get to go together! I don’t want to apply anymore.”

“Sorry, honey,” Linda sighed. “Can’t say no to greatness. Besides, you’ve got a recommendation from Mason and, oh yeah, a _Pulitzer_ , so you’ll be a shoe-in. Go meet Lois Lane.”

Iris stirred her coffee thoughtfully. Linda had gotten the letter this morning at the paper so Iris took her best friend to lunch to celebrate. But even though she was insanely happy for her, she’d been looking forward to going to those elite conferences with her friend – when they were in the same city and happy and _not in the hospital_ – for months. Lois Lane, Clark Kent, Perry White and James Olsen were only some of the names that would be there, and she wasn’t sure she’d have any fun without Linda.

“Besides, now I get to take my super hot, super smart, super adorable boyfriend to an awards ceremony and show him off to everyone,” she continued, and Iris wrinkled her nose.

“Please don’t. Please don’t call my brother hot. It’s bad enough I lost all that money in the bet.”

“That was your own fault,” Linda pointed out. “You’re not supposed to let on you know that they’re dating, those are the rules, and that’s why you were disqualified.”

“Whatever, dad gave me half of his winnings, since it was my fault he won in the first place.”

“Oh yeah, how?”

“He bet that someone else would out them.”

“God, you dad’s a genius. First you and Barry, and then Wally and me. Think he can see the future?”

“If he could see the future,” Iris scoffed, “I’d have been a lot more trouble over the years.”

“Hm,” she agreed. “So, how is Barry? And I’m not just saying that because the more you stay over at Barry’s the more I get to make out with Wally.”

Iris shrugged. This morning at the precinct only highlighted that she’d found the only person just as stubborn as her to fall in love with. “Fine, I guess.”

“Still not budging?”

“Nope.”

“Well, I know you don’t want to hear this, but – shit.”

Iris frowned. Linda had her eyes fixed on something behind her. She leaned forward and started whispering. “Is that Tony Woodward?”

Iris glanced behind her, trying to make it look like she was just looking around. “Holy shit, it is. I thought he was in juvie?”

“Apparently he got out. Wow, he’s built like a tank.”

Iris agreed. Tony was sauntering around Jitters like he owned the place, and even though he was about two feet taller and just as wide in the shoulders, he still looked like the same arrogant prick who’d tried to make Eddie’s life a living hell ( _tried_ being the operative word. Eddie may have looked like a harmless pretty boy, but he _was_ on the wrestling team right alongside Tony). Linda’s eyes widened. “He’s coming.”

“Linda Park and Iris West,” he drawled. Tony came to stand in front of their table, folding his arms so that his tattoo stood out on biceps. “Long time no see.”

“Too long,” he agreed. “You both look great. I saw your picture in the paper from winning that Pulitzer, Linda. Congratulations.”

“Um, thank you,” she replied, catching Iris’ eye. Iris didn’t blame her. She hadn’t been impressed with Tony then and she wasn’t now, not least when he was making her skin crawl with the way he was raking his gaze over them. “It was a lot of work, so…”

“I can imagine. And Iris, I read about you being True North, too. Writing about all kinds of crazy things, aren’t you? Like the Streak.”

“That’s me,” she said lightly, aware that Tony was far too close to her for it to be comfortable. “Crazy.”

“I was wondering, do you want anything more interesting?”

 “More interesting than the guy who can run on water and up buildings,” she asked, raising an eyebrow. Tony shrugged.

“I think you’ll find out soon enough that he’s not all that. Any idea where to find him?”

 _Oh, HELL no_. “Well, I’m not the one who dictates the meetings, so…”

She trailed off as Linda cleared her throat and her eyes flicked to the screen…where they could see that Tony was wanted for assault, theft and battery. She cleared her throat and grabbed her phone quickly. “But let me call my boyfriend, he works at CCPD and the Streak helps them out sometimes.”

“Or Eddie,” Linda added helpfully, trying to keep his attention, “or your dad, they both work there too.”

But it was too late – Tony has seen the television. His friendly demeanour disappeared and he glared at her. “Give me the phone, Iris,” he ordered. “ _Now_!”

He snatched it away from her and, as they watched, his hand turned silver and he crushed the phone in his hand. Linda and Iris sat there gaping at it in shock, even when he sighed regretfully and pulled out a wad of cash and dropped it on the table. “For the damage.”

Tony strolled away like everyone wasn’t watching him, and it wasn’t until everyone started chattering that the girls allowed themselves to breathe again. “Hey, you guys.” Kendra, one of Wally’s former classmates who’d returned to school after a long absence, touched their shoulders. “Are you guys okay?”

“Yeah, thanks,” Iris replied. “We’ve both faced down worse, right?”

“But you might want to keep that circulating,” Linda suggested, pointing at the screen, her natural journalistic instincts kicking in. “Make sure there’s at least one screen playing it, and put out a warning on Twitter or something to say he was seen near here.”

“Good idea. You want me to call anyone?”

“No, it’s cool,” Iris told her. She was already speed-dialling Eddie. Kendra nodded and walked off after insisting on getting them both a glass of water. Iris shook her head at Linda in disbelief. “I can’t believe asshole Tony Woodward is a metahuman.”

“Yeah.” She pointed to the wad of cash on table. “And _ballin_ ’, apparently.”

***

Barry walked into STAR Labs looking for Caitlin and Cisco, trying to see whether he could get them to help with the whole Tony Woodward situation. He’d gone out with Eddie and Joe to find out what they could about him, but apart from finding out that his shitty temper remained from when Eddie was a teenager, it wasn’t much. “Cait?” he called, frowning when he saw the Cortex was empty. “Cisco? Where are you guys? Hey Bette!”

“Hey, Barry,” his friend said. They’d set her up as well as they could, considering that she was a human bomb that could explode at any time. He poked his head into her room, where she was watching the Real Housewives of New York. “Doing okay?”

“Been better. The others are in the next room, I think they’re trying to kill you with a metal machine.”

“Right, so Tuesday,” he laughed. “I’ll see you.”

“In here,” Cisco called called, and Barry dumped his stuff and followed him to one of the side rooms to see that Caitlin was watching Cisco wrestling with a large metal dummy in the middle of the room. “Uh, what’s that?”

“This,” he said triumphantly, “stepping down from the podium, “is Girder. And he’s going to help you defeat that Tony guy.”

“I had no parts of this,” Caitlin said, but she still looked fascinated. “What did you find out about Tony?”

“I brought you some samples to analyse,” he explained, taking them out of his bag. “I think they came from Tony, so maybe we can try to figure out what kind of material he’s made from. Plus, we found out how he got his powers.”

“Great, I love this part,” Cisco said. “Really helps with the naming process.”

“Glad to be of service. Apparently Tony was employed by Coast City Ironworks, and he was there the night the Particle Accelerator exploded. He was arguing with his boss, got hit in the head, and then fell into a vat of molten metal. Storm cloud, nine months of recovery…”

“Throw in a glass slipper, and you’ve got a hell of a fairy tale,” Cisco finished. Caitlin nodded.

“That should help us try to figure out what he’s made of and how to defeat him.”

“We can do all that in a minute,” Cisco said. “Now, you are going to learn how to fight. See, I designed this so even though it’s not as powerful as Girder, it still packs a punch mean enough that you still know what you’re up against. Fighting is physics, and you defy even that, my friend. You hit him right and you could totally take this guy out.”

“I have bandages and antiseptic on standby,” Caitlin added carefully, while Cisco got the controls. Barry looked between them both.

“It’s just like boxing, right?” he said, taking off his jacket. “Plus I have super speed, so that’s good.”

“Yeah…just whether you can hit it, big guy.”

Barry started off well, since he could move and therefore punch at lightning speed, and it really seemed like he could defeat Tony the next time he saw him. That is, until the girder thing twisted around and threw him across the room. Barry shook his head, disoriented, and sat up amongst all the boxes he fell into.

“Is Barry dead?” Bette called from the next room.

“No!” Barry answered from the pile of boxes.

“Just checking!”

 Cisco and Caitlin came over immediately to help him up. “Hey, nothing’s broken,” he pointed out. “Progress, right?”

“I mean, if you call being thrown across a room like a rag doll progress…” Caitlin said. Barry and Cisco looked at her and she sighed. “Fine, it was progress. Now come on, let’s get you up before you hurt yourself. I don’t think Iris would appreciate me snapping her boyfriend in half.”

At Barry’s noncommittal noise Caitlin raised an eyebrow. “You guys are still fighting?”

“Of course they’re still fighting!” Cisco answered. “Look, I love Iris, but I don’t like the idea of her going up against the asshole who made Bette a bomb.”

“That’s true,” Bette added helpfully. “He is an asshole.”

“Yes, well,” Caitlin said tightly, “Iris isn’t a child, Cisco. Besides, Barry, maybe you should try talking to her about why she-”

They were interrupted by the computers beeping incessantly and Cisco walked over to it, frowning. “Uh-oh. Tony Woodward was seen at Jitters about twenty minutes ago.”

“Tony Woodward got out of juvie?” Bette demanded. “That’s insane.”

“Do you know where he is now?” Barry asked, dusting himself off. Caitlin joined Cisco and then made a squeaky noise.

“Um… Barry.”

“Yes?”

“So Tony was at Jitters.”

“We established that,” he laughed. “But does anyone know where he is?”

“Not yet. See, the thing is, he was looking for someone. And he found them.”

“Oh yeah? Who was it?”

“Uh…” Cisco stuttered. “It, well, she – Iris. Linda was there too, but he was looking for Iris.”

Barry froze and stared at him, something that could very well have been lightning making his hands shake. “What.” It wasn’t really a question.

“She’s fine, Barry,” Caitlin said quickly, seeing the expression on his face. “And – hold on. Oh look, see, she sent a message! _Got a tip on the blog, Tony usually hangs out by the factory where he worked in Coast City._ Wow, that was fast, she’s even got the address.”

Barry was calling Iris before he even knew what his fingers were doing, and she answered on the first ring. “Are you okay?” he demanded, foregoing a greeting. “Did he hurt you?”

“I’m fine, Barry,” she said tiredly, and he could tell that she’d probably been asked that question a million times already. “It’s not a big deal.”

“What about Linda?”

“She’s fine too. Little pissed off, because now we’re under house arrest with the detail Eddie and my dad forced on us, but fine.”

Barry paused, relief making him silent. Iris didn’t say anything either, and he wondered whether this gap, where they were both worried about the other one because of this latest threat, would force them to apologise. “What did he want?” The moment was gone. “Why did he want to talk to you?”

“Oh, he wanted me to write about him,” she said dismissively. “Like I’m going to write about the guy who couldn’t decide whether he had crush on me or Linda. But he was fixated on you, and not in a good way.”

Barry resisted the urge to tell her that this was dangerous, that she shouldn’t be dismissing Tony as just some guy who wanted his name in the paper when he’d obviously known where to find her. “I’m going after him,” he said.

“Barry, don’t-”

But he hung up, knowing she would talk him out of it, and changed into his suit. He was pounding the street before either Caitlin or Cisco knew that he was doing, gunning for Coast City like his life depended on it. “Barry?” Caitlin tried.

He ground his teeth together, anger making him run even faster. He couldn’t shake the image of what would have happened if Tony hadn’t chosen that moment to leave, or he caught her alone, or…

“Dude,” Cisco added, “don’t run angry!”

But there wasn’t any point, because he was already at the address that Iris had provided. There was nothing there but shelves of abandoned paint and stripper and other stuff, and the stale smell of burning metal hung in the air. Barry crept through the shelves, listening, and trying not kick up any dust. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do when he found Tony, but he didn’t particularly care. He was fairly certain that if he had another vat of molten metal handy he’d just throw him in it. Okay, he was kidding.

Mostly.

He looked around. Apparently Tony had turned this place into _his_ place, because there were bottles of beer and takeout everywhere, a punching bag, and weights scattered about the place. He tried very hard to ignore that the article Iris had written about Dr Wells and the Particle Accelerator was on the coffee table with her picture circled. He put a hand to his earpiece. “Guys, this is definitely the place.”

Barry took a few more cautious steps around, twisting quickly when he thought he heard something. But he was still in that haze of anger that had sprung up when he learned that Tony had threatened Iris, and he was really just looking for the closest approximation to silver moving around so he could punch it. And despite the fact that he was now the fastest man alive, he didn’t react fast enough.

“You’re trespassing, freak,” someone growled behind him, and then Tony hurled him across the room with brute force. Barry’s vision blurred as he crashed into the shelves, and then Tony was above him, his hands on the heavy shelves. “Nowhere left to run,” he smirked, and then shoved the shelves on top of him.

***

“What were you thinking?” Dr Wells demanded when they were all back at STAR Labs. “ _What were you thinking_? Both Cisco and Caitlin told you we’d find a way to defeat him!”

“I’ll heal,” Barry said dully. They’d found him a few minutes ago, groaning in pain under the shelves and not looking forward to Dr Wells yelling at him for running off half-cocked. And he was right, since his mentor was even more furious about it.

“You can’t heal when you’re dead,” he countered. He wheeled away in his chair. “He could have killed you.”

“I know, alright?” he snapped, walking out of the medical room. “I know! In the past thirty-six hours, the guy who almost killed one of my friends and threatened my girlfriend has handed my ass to me. I can’t even protect the people I care about and I’m supposed to be a superhero! Even _with_ my powers, I’m powerless against some thuggish asshole bully!”

“Not necessarily. Any object, when struck at the right velocity, and can be harmed. Cisco?”

“Well,” he said carefully, clearing his throat. “We’ve done some calculations, and based on the metal at the Ironworks, we figured out that if you hit him at the right speed in the right place, you could take him down.”

Barry considered this. “How fast would I have to go?”

“Factoring in your weight, the metal, tensile strength…Mach one point one.”

Caitlin looked at them like they’d proposed Barry fly to the moon. “You want Barry to _hit something_ at eight hundred miles an hour?”

“Eight hundred and thirty-seven, actually,” he corrected.

“That’s faster than the speed of sound!”

“I _know_ , he would create a sonic boom, which as I’ve said before?” He kissed his fingers. “Awesome.”

Barry ran a hand through his hair. “I’ve never gone that fast before.”

“Yet,” Dr Wells pointed out quietly. Caitlin threw her hands up in the air.

“I can’t believe we’re even considering this! He’d have to have a straight shot for _miles_!”

“Five point three miles, to be exact,” Cisco added helpfully.

“Do it right,” Dr Wells said, his blue eyes intense, “and you’ll take him down.”

“Do it wrong,” Caitlin told him, “and you’ll shatter every bone in your body.”

Barry sighed and looked at his watch – he was due back at work any minute. “Maybe we’ll call that plan B. Listen, I’ve gotta go, but let me know if you guys find him again.”

Barry drove back to work, more than a little ashamed and a lot frustrated. He didn’t really have a leg to stand on with telling Iris to stop investigating things that could get her killed when he couldn’t even protect her from them himself. But he had already lost far too much in his life – his mother, the chance to grow up with his father, a normal childhood – he was going to do whatever it took to keep Iris and the other people that he loved safe. He arrived at the precinct and then frowned – hardly anyone was there. He caught the Captain coming out of his office and stopped him. “Uh, sir? Where is everyone?”

“Car chase down in Coast City,” he explained. “Apparently Tony Woodward was down there – Eddie and Joe want to see whether they could get him. Anyway, you have a visitor.”

Barry frowned. “A visitor?”

“Yeah, up in your lab. Go deal with it, but don’t take too long. We’re going to need your help when we catch this guy.”

Barry nodded as the captain walked off before making his way upstairs. He had no idea who was going to be visiting him at this time of day, all his friends were at work…”Wally?”

The youngest West was standing by Barry’s window looking out of it when he walked in. He turned, and Barry tried not to hide his disappointment that it wasn’t the West he wanted to see. “Hey, Barry.”

“What’s up? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, fine. I just, uh, wanted to talk to you about something.”

Barry frowned slightly and then shrugged, walking to his desk. “Sure, I’m all ears.”

Wally looked so nervous Barry was starting to get worried. In all the time that he’d known him, Wally never looked so worried. “If it’s about Linda and Iris, they’re fine-”

“No, it’s not that. Uh, do you know what happened the night you got struck by lightning? I was the one who found you before we called the ambulance.”

He smiled. “I do, Iris told me. You know I’m grateful for that, Wally.”

“Yeah, I know. Just – the night it happened, the lightning crashed through this room,” he explained. “When I came up here, there was all your equipment and beakers and stuff, but all the liquid was just, like…” he struggled for the words, “floating out of them.”

“Floating?” Barry repeated.

“Yeah. I just thought it was a weird side effect of the lightning, you know? So I didn’t really think about it. But then when I touched you to check for a pulse, I felt this spark thing.”

“A spark?” Barry asked. “Well, that must have been residual lightning from when I was struck.”

“That’s what I thought!” Wally said. “And I ignored it, but after a few months I started to feel really weird. I felt the spark again, once when I was with Linda, and then I was doing an experiment while Johnny was out at lunch…” He paused, looking around. “Uh, you want like a coffee or something?”

“Um, sure.”

And then as Barry watched, Wally disappeared from his sight in a flash of silver lightning. In the next second he was back, a steaming coffee cup in his hand. Barry stared at him in disbelief. “Wally, what – _you too_?”

“Yes!” Wally put the cup down and sped to close the door of his lab. “I noticed it a couple of weeks after you woke up, and I had no idea what to do. And then you told us that you were the Streak, and…”

“And it must have come from the lightning that struck me – you must have absorbed some of the dark matter,” he realised. He saw that Wally was running a hand through his hair and he looked worried. “Wally, are you okay? Is there anything you’re worried about?”

“What am I worried about? I can do things faster than the eye can see and you’re asking me whether there’s anything I’m worried about?” He gave a shaky laugh. “Barry, I can’t, I’m not – I can’t _be you_! I’m not a hero, I litter and I never take out the trash when my dad asks, and-”

“Wally,” Barry interrupted, putting his hands on his shoulders. “Calm down, okay? Nobody’s asking you to do anything like that. What, you thought I was all put together and perfect when I found out I could do this? I’m not even put together now.”

Wally swallowed. “I don’t know what to do. It’s really fucking terrifying.”

“Really? I would have thought a guy like you would be glad that he can run at super speed.”

“I did,” he admitted. “But then I saw how the Streak had to fight that Mardon guy, and Iris told me about the Mist almost killing you.”

“Yeah, but…” he sighed. “Wally, I think you’ve got it all wrong. I’m doing this because I want to, not because I have to. If you want to take some time to get to know your powers, hell, get to know _you_ with your powers, then no one’s gonna blame you.” He grinned. “And hey, maybe eventually there’ll be two Streaks saving this city.”

Wally smiled slowly. “I like the sound of that. But what are we going to do when everyone likes me better than you?”

“How is that going to happen?”

“Uh, naturally. And what should my name be?”

“Let’s see,” Barry mused. “You’re short, and you’re the baby of the group… _Baby_ Streak. So you’re still a Streak, just not _the_ Streak.”

Wally glared at him. “No way that’s going to fly.”

“Well, I am dating the person who names all these people,” he pointed out, grinning. “So that’s one advantage over you.”

“Dude, I really don’t need a reminder that my sister is dating a total nerd like you.”

“Well, get used to it.” He paused. “Hey, Wally, I know you’re not sure about anything yet, but I think you should tell Linda. Iris was the first person I told, and I promise you’ll feel better.”

“Good idea,” he agreed. “What about that whole lightning thing that happened when I kissed Linda?”

“You know, the same thing happened a week ago with Iris.” He frowned. “You don’t think it’s a…like a _love_ thing, do you?”

“Our superpowers come from the girls we’re in love with?” Wally asked sceptically. “Dude. That would make us even more pathetically whipped than we already are. Even though you’re in the middle of a stupid fight.”

“Wally, I know you’re on her side because she’s your sister…”

“Are you kidding? I’m on _your_ side! You have no idea how terrifying it is to be the last one to know that your sister likes to run around after people with alien technology. Don’t tell her I said that, though.”

***

Iris stared out of the window for the third time that day, grateful, at least, that Eddie hadn’t told the detail to come inside their building. Right now they were enjoying some of the pizza that Iris and Linda had ordered, but being followed everywhere by cops was starting to get old, fast. Mason was understanding but not too impressed since he seemed to think it drew too much attention to them, and in the end both Linda and Iris decided to leave work early because they were getting irritated.

“Iris,” Linda warned from the kitchen counter.

“I’m not mad.”

“It’s better if you get it out now.”

“I told you, I’m not mad.”

“You’ve been wearing a hole in our carpet for twenty minutes,” Linda pointed out. “I think you’re mad about something.”

Iris sat down at the counter and took a slice of pizza before taking a bite. “I just think he’s being an _idiot_ ,” she burst out finally.

“There it is.”

“I mean, he tells me that I’m arrogant and reckless,” she continued, “and then _he_ goes out without a thought in the world to go up against a guy literally made out of metal because he’s pissed off. Caitlin told me he almost dislocated his shoulder. And now Eddie says that they chased him out of the state, so you know the Streak didn’t catch him. But, sure, _I’m_ the reckless one.”

Iris kept chewing her pizza and tried to ignore Linda’s knowing look. “Are you sure you aren’t mad because he hasn’t called you yet?”

“No,” he mumbled, her mouth full of pepperoni and cheese.

“Because you think he should be apologising?”

“He _should_ be apologising? Whose side are you on?”

“Yours, of course. But I can’t help but see his side of things.”

Iris narrowed her eyes at her. “What do you mean?”

“Because he’s Barry,” she answered simply. “You know, Barry Allen? Stayed with you in the hospital while you were looking after me? Looks at you like you’re the sun rising? Lost his mother to the impossible and now watches his girlfriend chase after it everyday?”

Iris paused and swallowed, before groaning and putting her head in her hands. “I can’t believe you played the dead mom card.”

Linda smiled and came to hug her from behind. “Well, I happen to know Iris West. I’d be pissed if I lost her, too.”

Iris sighed. “Look, I know I can be reckless. Sometimes,” she added, not ready to admit defeat quite yet. “But being True North, chasing all these stories – it’s who I am, Lin, it’s who I’ve been since I was sixteen and taking pictures of the Rag Doll. And finding out what Eiling did to Bette isn’t even about that, it’s about helping her friends.” She paused, folding her arms. “I just don’t know why she doesn’t _get it_.”

“I think he gets it,” Linda said. “But I think you both need to realise that fighting about keeping one of you safe isn’t really a sensible fight to have when one of you runs faster than sound and the other one took down criminals for fun. Just talk to him, ladybird. Quit with the pride and the stubbornness and see where he’s coming from.”

Iris glared at her. “It’s more fun when I’m the sensible one and you’re the mess.”

Linda just shrugged. “Gotta change up the status quo some time. So, have you actually found anything out about Eiling yet?”

“I have, actually. Apparently he was involved in this research project thing that went wrong before the Particle Accelerator exploded, but then the army turned up and it stopped. I don’t know exactly what it means, but it’s shady as hell that every time Eiling turns up something disappears.”

“True,” she admitted. “And if you do, you can – what the hell was that?”

There had been a loud crash outside their apartment. Both girls put down their pizza and went to the window to investigate. “Oh my God,” Linda gasped. “What happened to them? Who did that?”

Their police detail had been attacked, the car turned over and the officers missing. Panic made Iris’ hands shake. “We have to call the precinct. Eddie, or dad – and we need to call Barry-”

“Great – I’ll do that, you go tell the night manager that Tony could be around here,” Linda added. Iris nodded and walked quickly to the intercom, pressing the number for the night manager’s desk. “Alex? Alex, listen, the guy who was on the news, Tony Woodward, he’s on the loose – you have to lock the doors and tell everyone to do the same. Alex? Are you there?” Iris looked at the phone and then put it back to her ear.

“Shit,” she breathed. “Shit – _Linda_!”

Then Iris let out a choked sound as their front door began to whine and splinter. Tony Woodward kicked the door down and stepped forward as Iris scrambled back from it, shaking. “Iris,” he said, looking her over. “You and I are going for a little ride.”

***

Barry concentrated and drove his hand into the middle of the punching bag. “Better,” Eddie nodded. Barry gave him a sceptical look. “You’ll really just say anything, won’t you?”

“I’m not kidding, you’re getting better!” he disagreed. “When I met you, you were more likely to hit _yourself_ in the face rather than someone else.”

“Thanks.”

“Any time.”

Barry rolled his eyes and smiled at Eddie, shaking his head. Wally had left just before Eddie and Joe returned to say that Woodward had left the state and that they were taking over. Now Eddie was irritated and blowing off steam on the punching bag that they kept upstairs, which meant that he of course had prime opportunity to make fun of how skinny his arms where.

“Put your weight behind it,” he suggested. “Think of something that really pisses you off. I was thinking about Woodward, to be honest.”

“What did he do to you?”

Eddie shrugged lightly. “Bullied me for not having a ‘real’ dad. I mean I had Joe, sure, but it wasn’t hard to make me feel insecure about it.”

Barry stared, surprised. “I didn’t know that, Eddie.”

“Not many people do. Don’t worry, though, Linda punched him in the nose a few times and then he went to juvie. Now, I guess _you_ can think about how we all thought Kyle was going to propose to-”

Barry gritted his teeth and punched the bag with as much force that he could muster – it hit Eddie in the chest and then split, sand pouring out of it into a puddle on the floor. “Sorry,” he said as Eddie wheezed. “Forgot about the whole superspeed thing.”

“Uh huh,” Eddie said, gasping. “Wow, you really hated that guy, didn’t you?”

“You have no idea.”

“Don’t worry, I was the same. Being a detective doesn’t mean much when your fiancée is surrounded by guys in army gear cut from muscle.”

“Well, don’t forget she picked you, Detective Pretty Boy,” he pointed out, grinning. “And pretty soon she’ll be back and you guys can get married for real this time.”

Eddie have him a hopeful smile. “A little optimism’s not so bad, right?”

“Exactly. Oh, your phone.”

“Thanks.” Barry downed some water – they’d been at this for an hour – and watched Eddie frown into his phone. “Lin? Linda, slow down…What? You’re _what_? Well, where are you? Where’s she? Okay, we’ll be there soon, I promise.”

“What is it?” Barry demanded. Eddie let out a breath.

“Tony went to the girls’ apartment and took Iris.”

Barry’s entire world stopped just as Captain Singh came in. “Guys, the detail on Iris and Linda’s apartment was just attacked and Iris is missing. Thawne-”

“On it,” he said quickly. He gestured for Barry to follow him downstairs, where everyone was running around in a panic. They saw Joe pacing up and down and went to calm him down. “We’ll find her, Joe,” Barry said, “I promise.”

“You think you can go all ‘Streak’ on this?” he muttered, and he nodded.

“As soon as I find out where she is. Where’s Linda, is she okay?”

“Tony barricaded her in the kitchen,” Eddie said shortly, checking he had his gun. “I’m gonna go over there now to make sure she’s safe – I’ll call Wally on the way.”

Barry rubbed his temples, wracking his brains to find out where Tony could have taken her, when one of the cops stopped Captain Singh. “Sir, we’ve got a report from Carmichael Elementary that someone pulled the fire alarm?”

“Turf it to the fire department,” he said quickly, but Eddie grabbed Joe’s hand.

“Joe, Carmichael Elementary – that’s where-”

“You guys went to school,” Joe finished. Both of them turned to look at Barry, who nodded before racing off.

***

Iris tried not to grimace in pain as Tony manhandled her through the doors of her old elementary school. She was going to make some joke about how of course Tony wanted to come back to the place he’d peaked, but since he’d knocked out their detail, locked Alex in his room and ripped out the phone before barricading a terrified Linda in their kitchen, she figured she didn’t have the upper hand here.

“Why did you bring me here, Tony?” she asked. Maybe if she stalled for time she’d be able to figure out how to get out of this. He shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets, strolling around like he had all the time in the world.

“Guess I wanted to see what this place was like. Funny, it’s a lot smaller when you’re the new big man on campus.”

“Well, I haven’t grown since high school, Tony,” she joked. “It’s always been the same to me.”

“Yeah, well, I brought you here specifically so I could get you to write about me.”

“You want me to write about you?”

“Of course. I told you, with these new abilities of mine?” He grabbed a locker door and squeezed, and Iris swallowed as it buckled in his hands. “Much more impressive than what I used to be in high school.”

Iris’ eyes darted around and she spotted a fire alarm. She angled her body towards it. “Well, you could have anyone write about you, Tony – why me?”

“Because I like you, Iris,” he said, smirking at her. “I always have. Besides, True North is bound to get more attention than your average person writing about environmental spillages.”

“Well, like I said, I have a boyfriend,” she said, moving to stand in front of the alarm. “And I’m not sure I want to write for someone who’s such an _asshole_!”

She pulled the alarm and ran on that last word, but then Tony grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “You try anything like that again,” he snarled, “and I’m going to leave more than a bruise!”

Then he threw her to the ground and she narrowly avoided hitting her head on the lockers. “You want get away from this,” she managed. “The Streak’s going to stop you.”

“Well, then I hope you’re ready for the showdown of a lifetime because I’m not going down without a fight.”

Iris’ hair was blown back as a gust of wind flew in. “Good,” Barry said, his voice distorted, “because you found one.”

“You just won’t stay dead!”

Tony ran to Barry but he ducked under his legs to move Iris out of the way. “You okay?”

“Fine. Kick his ass, Bar.”

He nodded once and then stood up to face Tony, who’d turned around. Iris grimaced as Tony swung a pole at him. Barry ducked twice, and then his luck ran out when Tony smashed it into his stomach. She gasped as he used it to ram Barry into every available surface – she felt every hit like someone was hitting _her_. Barry managed to get clear and she breathed a sigh of relief…and then he ran away, back out the doors, leaving her with a psychopath that could turn into steel.

***

Barry’s feet barely hit the ground as he ran out into the cool air through the night, only two thoughts on his mind.

 _Iris. 5.3 miles. Iris. 5.3 miles_.

“He got away,” Caitlin said over the intercom.

_Iris. 5.3 miles. Iris._

“Barely,” Cisco added.

 _Iris. 5.3 miles_.

He stopped and turned on his heel, facing the school again and taking several deep breaths to prepare himself.

“Why did he stop?” Caitlin asked slowly.

 _Iris_.

“He’s miles away…” Cisco trailed off. “Five point three miles away.”

Barry felt it again, that lightning thing that happened when he first started running after the coma, and he let it spur him on as he ran. He zipped through the streets faster than he’d ever run before, setting off car alarms and smashing windows.

“Barry, wait!”

“No way, he’s going to do it!”

How could he wait? How could he ever even _think_ about waiting when Iris was in danger. Barry ran still harder, pushing himself, gritting his teeth, and felt and heard the boom as he ran faster than the speed of sound. He burst through the doors of the elementary school and saw Tony turn his head, already transformed to steel, and aimed a fist right for his jaw.

“SUPERSONIC PUNCH, BABY!”

The good news was that it worked.

The bad news? He felt like someone had broken every bone in his hand.

Both of them lay there, groaning, until Tony dragged himself to his knees and then a sitting position, before standing over him. Barry honestly had nothing left to give at that point, so he was grateful that Iris chose that moment to give him a taste of her right hook. He sat up. “Nice cross,” he said quietly.

“I think I broke my hand,” she groaned.

“Ugh, me too.”

He looked at her and couldn’t help but grin, and she grinned back.

***

“Iris, I’m not saying that wasn’t cool,” Cisco said as Caitlin bandaged up her hand.

“Uh-huh,” she said dryly.

“But Barry did break the sound barrier today.”

“Only because he thought Iris was in danger,” Caitlin pointed out. “Otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to keep his head screwed on long enough to make a smart decision.”

“True. Oh, you think if we told him Iris was kidnapped we-”

“No,” Dr Wells and Caitlin said together, and Iris laughed.

“I think I’ve got my fair share of danger for tonight, Cisco.”

Barry had sped her away here so she could get seen to before depositing Tony in the Pipeline, and Eddie had called to let her know Linda was safe. The same could not be said for her left hand. Right then Barry himself walked in, his hood down, and Caitlin cleared her throat. “Well, I’m all done here. Why don’t we go and see what kind of damage Barry’s done to himself so I can tell him off tomorrow?”

They left, with Cisco still babbling about what would happen if Iris was kidnapped by assassins, and Barry rubbed the back of his neck. “So, how’s the hand?”

“Not broken,” she answered, smiling softly, “so that’s something.”

They looked at each other for a moment and then spoke at the same time.

“I’m sorry I said-”

“I shouldn’t have-”

They both laughed and then Iris shrugged. “I missed you,” she said simply.

He raced to her side and wrapped his arms around her. “Yeah, I missed you too.”

Iris sat for a moment, breathing in his Barry smell, before he let go and dragged up a chair so he could sit in front of her, tapping his fingers on her knees. “Everyone took your side,” she said. “Even with all my detailed arguments.”

“Because I’m right.”

“Nuh-uh, Barry. I am a grown woman, I can take care of myself.”

Barry sighed. “But you can understand why I’m worried, right?”

“Of course I do, I’m not stupid. It’s just…” she trailed off, shaking her head, and he tilted her chin upwards.

“What is it?”

“My whole life, I watched superheroes. Like, real ones. And I guess this is true for all kids, but I always wanted to be one. I wanted to be like Wonder Woman or Batman or Supergirl, flying around and kicking ass and putting away criminals. And then I started my blog and suddenly I was the hero, even with a pen and a blog. It’s been who I am for years.” She shrugged helplessly. “I’m just a girl who wants to be a hero, like anyone else.”

He smiled at her, his green eyes shining. “Well, you’ve always been mine.”

She poked him in the shoulder. “Nice try, Allen. Your corniness doesn’t offset everything.”

“No, I’m kidding,” he said, stroking her knuckles with the pads of his thumbs. “I get it. But Iris, this isn’t the same as it was before, it’s a lot more dangerous. And there’s a lot of stuff that I’m willing to put up with, but losing you? Completely unacceptable to me.”

Iris smiled at his conviction. “I don’t want to lose you, either.”

“So I propose a compromise,” he said. “You’re better at investigating than I am, but I’m the one with the superpowers. So whenever you find something that’s too much of a threat, you just call me. In exchange, you can handle all the other stuff. But we have to make sure we talk about it first. We may be part of a team, but you and me – True North and the Scientist – we were a team first, so we have to work together. Okay?”

Iris nodded and kissed him, revelling in the feeling of his skin beneath her fingers that she missed so much. “Okay. And I’m so glad you said that.”

“Why?”

“ _Because_ , Barry!” she exclaimed. “It’s not just you! Annie and Chris found this guy – apparently he’s on fire but doesn’t burn up. And then there’s the parademon thing, obviously, but there’s also that Cyborg guy, someone said they found a picture of him! But none of them are as amazing as you.”

He laughed, ducking his head shyly. “Well, I try.”

“No, I’m serious. It – have you ever seen yourself _move_? One minute you’re there, the next you’re not, it’s incredible! Tony never even saw you coming, Barry, you came and went in a-”

“Flash?” he suggested, and Iris stared at him.

“Flash,” she breathed slowly. “Barry, that’s perfect! Oh,” she said. “Hal will be so disappointed. Here, give me a pen.”

Barry handed him one and then yelped as she yanked his hand forward and scrawled ‘Flash’ on it. “I might forget,” she explained.

“What if someone sees?”

“I’ll wipe it off when we get home.”

“’We’?”

“Barry,” she said in a low voice, “you think I’m going to spend another night without my vibrating boyfriend?”

He got them home pretty quickly after that.”

***

It happened a week later.

Barry and Wally were at the West residence, trying some experiments with his speed (they’d broken two mugs, both of which were from Iris, but thankfully none of Great Aunt Esther’s china) as a way to distract themselves as they waited for the call. They heard the door open and Iris walked in, wrapped in a scarf and carrying a hot chocolate. She smiled with the same nervous tension they were all feeling.

“Hey, guys,” she greeted them. She kissed Barry on the cheek and squeezed Wally’s shoulder. “So, um, did Caitlin-”

“She’s going to call,” he interjected. “Or, Cisco is. Video message.”

Iris nodded. They talked for a little while – Iris was still looking into Eiling and Wally and Johnny wanted to go to some physics conference in Zurich next year – before they heard Joe show up, too. He smiled when he saw everyone. “None of you could wait alone, huh? How long?”

“Couple of hours,” Wally answered. “Dr Wells wants to be thorough.”

Linda was the last to arrive, but at least she brought food. “Nervous cooking,” she explained. Wally and Barry immediately dug in while Joe rolled his eyes and put some dinner rolls in the oven. “Soon?”

“Soon,” Iris agreed.

Finally, Barry got a call on his cell. Everyone, gathered around the dinner table like they’d been a year ago, looked at his nervously. Iris looped her arm through his as he answered it and put it on the table for everyone to see. “Cisco? Is – ahem, what happened?”

Cisco’s face filled the camera screen. “Well, uh – good news! I just can’t show you.”

“You can’t show us?” Linda demanded.

“Well, there’s a lot of kissing,” he explained, grinning. “But she’s awesome.”

“She’s okay?” Iris asked.

“Totally fine. I mean, she’ll need some help controlling it sometimes, but _no kaboom_!”

“NO KABOOM!” Wally whooped, high-fiving his dad. “That’s what I’m talking about! Go Caitlin!”

After they’d gotten over this (an inordinate amount of time shouting ‘no kaboom!’), Iris squeezed Barry tight. “I’m glad she’s okay.”

“Me too,” he agreed. He paused. “So listen, I have to do something, but I’ll be back soon, okay?”

As requested, Cisco, Caitlin and Dr Wells were in the office when he got there, a very expensive bottle of champagne in his hands. Caitlin frowned. “Shouldn’t we be giving that to Eddie and Bette?”

“Please, like they even know that we exist,” Cisco scoffed. “Ahem, sorry. Dr Wells, glasses?”

After he handed them out Barry started pouring and Cisco cleared his throat again. “So today we got our friend back. We thought we lost her but we didn’t, and even though I’d like to take the credit it’s mostly due to the badass chick standing next to me.”

Caitlin stared. “I – Cisco, of course you – I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Mr Ramon is right,” Dr Wells agreed. “I know what it’s like to bring others happiness when you have lost your own, and you handle it with grace and strength.”

“Dr Wells, I…”

“So, to Caitlin,” Barry laughed, and they raised their glasses. “Because not all heroes wear leather.”

And Caitlin couldn’t do anything but smile after that.

***

Barry made it home a few hours later, and immediately noticed something was different. Someone had been in his apartment. Nothing of value seemed stolen, though, his television and laptop were there, and so was the cash on the counter. It wasn’t until he got to the living room that he saw them. A picture of Iris and a picture of his dad, both with knives through them.

 _Stop looking_ , the message scrawled underneath said, _or else_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you guys enjoyed that! not long now...


	28. Flash vs. Arrow: Dawn of Leather-Wearing Ninja Turtles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a metahuman gives Barry an idea (AKA the crossover on steroids).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for all those people who appreciated all the DC shoutouts, i hope you like this.

“You know, you don’t _have_ to go.”

“Of course I have to go.”

“I’m sure someone else can help Laurel with Bette and Eddie’s case.”

Iris gave Barry a look over their coffee and tried to resist the puppy-dog eyes he was so good at giving. “Someone else who’s spent the last week getting information on Eiling? And has as much as experience as me?”

Barry pouted. “Well, no. But I’m going to miss you.”

She reached forward and stroked his hair, smiling. “I know, I’m going to miss you too. But Bette’s getting tired of hiding in her and Eddie’s apartment. And besides, Oliver, Dig and Felicity are coming to visit, you’ll have fun with them.”

Barry made a face. “Dig and Felicity, for sure. Ollie? Not so much.”

“Sure-fire way to get him mad at you? Call him ‘Ollie’.”

“I know, it’s just, I haven’t worked with him before. You know, ‘Flash’ me.”

Iris smirked at him. “Well done, you managed a whole two hours out of bed before you said it – you’re improving.”

“Well, it’s a much better name than my last one.”

“Hey, I thought that had pizzaz!”

“Whoever told you that is not your friend.”

Iris punched him in the shoulder and he laughed. The Flash, to Barry’s eternal delight, had taken off much better than the Streak had, so now that was what everyone was calling him. Hal, because he was an asshole, still kept sending everyone who knew his secret keychains with ‘The Streak’ all over them, but still. At least he sounded less like he ran around the city naked.

“Eddie’s back at work today, right?” Iris continued, finishing off her bagel. “The doctor said his bullet wound should be healed up by now.”

“Yeah, it was just a graze,” Barry answered. He looked down into his coffee, frowning, and Iris sighed, but before she could say anything he was repeating the words he hadn’t stopped saying since he found himself in the hospital with Iris, Linda, Wally and Joe.

“I should have been there.”

“Barry, it wasn’t your fault – a metahuman stole your powers!”

“I know, but Eddie got hurt, and you-”

“I’m fine,” she interrupted. “Besides, a girl’s gotta be her own hero now and again.”

Last week Barry had been hit by a metahuman who could absorb electricity, rendering him powerless for a day. That was fine, kind of…until the Clock King took the precinct hostage and Eddie got shot. He made it back just in time to see them wheeling Eddie off to the hospital, dazed but largely okay, and Iris shaken because Tockman had dragged her off. Luckily she’d been able to grab Eddie’s gun before he did, so now he was in custody, but still. It was a stark reminder of how, even he was the fastest man alive, he couldn’t be in two places at once.

“And,” she continued, “you followed it up with a pretty epic defeat of Captain Cold, Heatwave and…what is it Cisco’s calling his new girlfriend now?”

“The Golden Gilder,” he answered. “And she’s not his girlfriend, she kidnapped him to get him to make her a gun.”

“She is _so_ his girlfriend. You don’t eye-fuck all over STAR Labs like that without it being something more.”

“You would know,” he said dryly. “Given that we were doing the actual fucking thing there last week.”

“Look – have you _seen_ your hair after you pull off the suit?” Iris demanded defensively, her ears turning red. “It’s way too sexy to be legal.”

“Hey, fine by me,” he grinned. “Although that makes it the third inappropriate place – after Jitters and CCPN. What’s next, the precinct?”

Iris was about to talk him out of _that_ idea – but then she had a sudden image of Barry at his desk moaning her name and her on her knees and – “Iris Ann West,” he said sternly, “you get your mind out of the gutter right now, I was joking.”

“How did you know where my mind was?”

“Because the last time you were looking at me like that, we ended up promising that we had to be _professional_. Besides, we’d definitely get caught.”

“Not necessarily,” she muttered, grinning, “ _Flash_.”

“You want your dad to shoot me, don’t you?”

Iris laughed and checked her watch – her train would be here soon. “No, I’ve had enough of people in my life getting shot this week. Seeing Bette worry about Eddie was enough for me.”

“She must be glad he’s back at work.”

“Yeah, but she’s got nothing to do all day because she’s not looking after him anymore,” she pointed out, “given the fact that she’s technically dead and can’t leave her apartment, which is why I have to go to Star City to talk to Laurel.”

General Eiling, it seemed, had been busy with Sergeant Bette Sans Souci. With Barry’s help, because they were sticking to their deal of helping each other, she’d found that Eiling had faked Bette’s death in order to continue his experiments on her, which was so illegal that she couldn’t understand how he got the balls to do it. Eddie and Bette wanted to sue them, but Iris had enough experience with things like this to know that it wouldn’t take much for someone like Eiling to make a small-town detective disappear, especially since his fiancée was already supposed to be dead.

So, with the information they’d got about it – interviews with the doctor who’d tried to save Bette, reports from the explosions that happened, and their own fishy handling of Bette’s death – Iris and Laurel were going to engage in some good old-fashioned blackmail so they good general would leave them and their friends alone. If it worked, great. If it didn’t, well, Iris was glad that her boyfriend was called the Flash.

They both looked up when the announcer squawked that her train was now boarding, then stood up and walked hand-in-hand to the platform. “I’ll call you when I get there, okay?” she told him softly, and he nodded.

“Come back soon. And if you need my help-”

“You’re going to be the first one I call, Flash.”

Barry grinned and kissed her, so long that the station attendant tapped them both on the shoulder before helping her get on the train. She watched him waving as the train pulled away, smiling at him until he was out of sight, the small ache in her heart growing as she realised she was leaving the biggest part of it behind.

***

“ _Bank robbery on Sixth_!” Caitlin practically shouted when he answered his phone.

That, rather than Iris straddling him and kissing him awake, was how Barry Allen started the next day, unfortunately for him, but at least he knew he wasn’t alone in how much he missed his better half. Iris had already called him the previous night and texted him a few times too, though she got more frustrated as the night wore on.

_Laurel says hi_

_OMG I’m gonna kill Hal he ATE MY BROWNIES_

_The man’s got no sense of privacy why is he a superhero my god_

Iris’ growing desire to hit Hal aside, she was meeting with Eiling with Laurel today, so hopefully everything would go well. He put that aside as he sped towards the bank robbery, optimism coursing through his veins. Thinking of Iris, it seemed, always made him run a little faster, and he couldn’t keep the grin off his face as he thought of her. Not even of the sex, but just being with her and hanging out with her, and even when Caitlin and Cisco had the night off and she’d come in to help man the terminals. He was careful to keep these thoughts to himself, though, because Cisco would make fun of him for getting a major case of ‘the feels’.

Barry stopped outside the bank, where he could hear commotion coming from inside. “Uh, guys?” he said, starting towards the building. Inside, everyone was yelling at and attacking each other. “Something weird is going on here!”

“What?” Cisco asked. “Did you catch the guy robbing the bank?”

Barry zipped around, circling the room in seconds and watching for someone with stolen money. “No, he must have gone. But that’s not what I meant – everyone here is going crazy!”

“Barry, get away from there,” Dr Wells ordered. “You have no idea what could be happening to them.”

“Okay, I – wait. They’ve stopped.”

“Barry, call the police and go,” he repeated. “They can deal with it.”

Barry was back at STAR Labs in seconds, pulling off his cowl, and Dr Wells regarded him. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, fine,” he shrugged. “I just have no idea what would make people want to attack each other like that.”

“I don’t think those people wanted to,” Caitlin said meaningfully.

“You think it’s a metahuman?”

“Probably.”

“Great, someone who can make people crazy on sight,” Cisco muttered. “Is it Ryan Seacrest?”

“I’m sure we’ll find out who it is soon enough,” Dr Wells said, wheeling around to face him. “In the meantime, Barry, aren’t you late for work?”

He was right – Barry barely made it into the precinct before everyone filed into the captain’s office for the staff meeting. “You’re late,” Eddie muttered as they all walked in. “And you’re a little too good at your job.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean the Flash showed up really quickly after that bank robbery,” he said quietly as everyone waited for the captain, “and now some people think you’re a public menace.”

“Me?” he squeaked. “I’m not a public menace!”

“Well, you are, but only because of those giraffe legs of yours. Relax, I’ve got your bag – people are probably just freaked. You’ll save a school bus and everything will be fine.”

Barry nodded but bit his lip. He was so happy he was saving people and doing all this good, he hadn’t expected anyone to think he should be put away. But then he thought of Oliver and how he’d been arrested for vigilantism, and that’s technically what Barry was.

“Okay, quick one before we get the day started,” the captain declared as he walked. “Eddie, Joe, you okay to go down to that bank robbery today? I heard some weird stuff was going down there.”

“All set,” Joe answered confidently, and the captain nodded.

“Anything else?”

Detective Turner spoke up. “Have you given any more thought to my suggestion, sir? Because-”

“I have, and I’m still saying no,” he said sternly. “I’m not going to start a team to bring the Flash in when he hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“He showed up way too quickly after that robbery, and we have no idea what he wants,” the other detective countered. “We don’t want him to turn into another Arrow.”

Barry tried not to look worried when he noticed that a few of the detectives and cops were nodding in agreement. But the captain was still unconvinced. “Well, all he seems to want to do right now is to stop criminals _without_ shooting holes in them.”

“If you’re that worried about it, maybe you should ask Iris for a meeting,” Eddie joked. “Though I don’t think she’d appreciate you doubting her.”

“If there’s nothing else?” the captain nodded and stood. “Good. You all know what to do.”

“Don’t worry, Bar,” Joe said, slapping him on the shoulder. “That’ll blow over eventually. It’s not like _you’re_ the Arrow.”

Unfortunately for them, however, the Green Arrow would be making an appearance sooner than they thought. Barry was at the lab catching up on some work, grateful at least that now he had Jesse so she could go out and look at crime scenes while he stayed back. Eddie and Joe were using the tracers found in the stolen money to try and track the robber down, when he got a call that whoever was making everyone crazy had just turned up. He sped to get his suit and found them, just in time to save Eddie from being shot at by a violent cop whose eyes had turned red and watch the metahuman escape. But the cop shot at a beam as he was saving Joe, knocking him over.

Just as the cop raised his gun, however, he was hit in the leg by an arrow. Barry looked up to see Oliver grinning at him from underneath his cowl. His voice modulator, when he spoke, lowered his voice to a rasping growl. “Nice mask.”

***

“You know,” Iris said, reaching for another croissant, “I could get used to this.”

“Dating a guy who can teleport to find breakfast muffins has its advantages,” Laurel admitted, stirring her coffee. Iris looked around. “Speaking of, where is he?”

“He was bored, so he went off to look for some crime to fight.”

“He just does that?”

“We live in Star City, it’s not like he has to walk far. So, ready to go over everything?”

Iris nodded and shifted their breakfast to one side so they could look at all their notes. When Iris had arrived the night before – _after_ Hal ate all thr brownies that she got on the way to Laurel’s apartment from the train station – they spent a few hours making notes on what they would say with their meeting with Eiling. It had to be perfect…given the fact that he didn’t know they were coming.

“So we go in and you say that you’re representing Edward Thawne, Sergeant Sans Souci and me,” Iris started. “Then we say that we have information on what exactly he did to her and we’re willing to go to the higher authorities unless he agrees that there were unforgiveable lapses in judgement in reporting her death.”

“At which point,” Laurel continued, “he will undoubtedly start threatening us with disappearance and consequences and other terrible, terrible things. Which is when we say that if he doesn’t say anything about Bette, we won’t say anything about what he did to her.”

“And you’re sure it will work?”

“Iris, I went to law school with Lucy Lane – I know how to blackmail a general. The whole point of us going there in person is to make sure he knows we’re serious, we have resources, and that there’ll be inescapable consequences if he doesn’t agree,” she pointed out. “Okay, he makes Eddie and Bette disappear. Weird, but kind of nondescript. Then Iris West disappears, too, and so does Laurel Lance. The Arrow and the Flash go insane trying to prove he did something – at which point do you think people will start being suspicious of General Wade Eiling?” She paused, drinking her coffee as someone opened the door to her apartment. “No, we’ll be fine. We just have to stick with the plan and go in with protection.”

Iris paused in the act of buttering her croissant. “Protection?”

“Well, I’m not an idiot. We’re walking into the lion’s den here, we have no idea what could happen. So we need back-up.”

“Who? Roy’s still training, and Dig’s in Central City with Barry and Oliver.”

“That’s why,” Hal declared as he walked in, “you have me. And let’s be frank, I’m better than those other guys.”

“Hal?” Iris spluttered. “Seriously? He’s our protection?”

“What?” Laurel laughed as Hal came around to kiss her on the forehead. “He wanted to help!”

“I did want to help,” he added, stealing a muffing from the plate. “I already have a bodyguard name – Lars.”

“Lars? What kind of bodyguard name is that?”

“The perfect kind, don’t you watch TV?”

Iris resisted the urge to roll her eyes and laugh. “Oh, this’ll be good.”

***

“The Arrow?” Eddie said as soon as he saw Barry in his lab when they got back. “Seriously?”

“I didn’t know he was going to be there,” Barry said. Eddie stared.

“You know who he is?”

“Yeah, it’s-”

“No, do not tell me, I do not want to testify against either of you in a court of law. What do I need to know to convince everyone that the Flash isn’t working with an insane vigilante?”

Barry paused. There really wasn’t any way of convincing people that Oliver wasn’t crazy, given that he wasn’t so sure about it himself. “I will talk to him – he’s just here to get my help on some stuff. Don’t worry, I’m going to find this guy myself.”

“Great.” Eddie let out a breath. “Have you heard from Iris?”

“Yeah, she and Laurel went in to see Eiling about an hour ago. They seemed pretty confident about it. Don’t worry, Eddie. We are talking about one woman who got Moira Queen off a mass murder charge and one who tied a psychopath to a flagpole for fun.”

“Right,” Eddie said quietly, and Barry looked down as his phone buzz.

“In his defence,” Felicity began, “you looked like you needed help.”

“Is that you talking or the Arrow talking?” he asked, one eyebrow raised. Eddie took one look at him and put his hands over his ears and backed out of the room. “Because he _shot_ someone, Felicity.”

“He’s the Arrow! It’s what he does.”

“Well at least if you’re defending him that means you guys are on speaking terms again.”

“That’s n-not – We work together, Barry.”

“Iris and I worked together.”

“Oh, I know you did,” she laughed. “You free to meet for lunch?”

“Depends, is Oliver going to shoot me too?”

Luckily Oliver didn’t seem to have his crossbow on him when they met at Jitters, Cisco and Caitlin with them. Cisco seemed way too excited to be there, and when Barry got close he realised why. “I had _so_ many theories of who the Arrow was,” he was gushing, seemingly unaware of the expression on Oliver’s face. “I had it narrowed down to like, fifty people, and you were in the top ten.”

“Really?” he intoned.

“Diggle was higher than you, though.”

Caitlin snorted into her coffee at Diggle’s amused expression and Barry sat down next to them. “I told you I was coming,” Oliver said by way of hello as Barry got comfortable. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Everyone thinks that the Flash is working with some crazy vigilante – Joe almost bit my head off.”

“Wait, I thought Joe liked me.”

“Joe likes Oliver Queen; the Arrow, he thinks needs to be tranquilised.”

“And on that note,” Caitlin said, “should we talk about why you guys are actually here?”

“Thank you, Caitlin,” Oliver said. “I actually came here for your help with Captain Boomerang, but it seems you guys have some problems of your own. Barry, I need to train you so you don’t just walk blindly into your surroundings so you can actually catch this guy.”

“Roy G. Bivolo,” Barry corrected. “And I don’t walk blindly into my surroundings.”

“Dude, you totally do,” Cisco disagreed. “You’re like a superspeedy Leeroy Jenkins. How are we going to catch Prism with you acting like that?”

“Prism?” Diggle asked. “I thought it was Iris who did the nicknaming thing?”

“She’s cute, but she’s not as good as me.”

“Well, I thought we could name this one ‘Rainbow Raider’,” Caitlin suggested, and Cisco scoffed. “Obviously you would turn this into a science joke. Nope, we are sticking with Prism.”

Caitlin just rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I was talking with Felicity, and we figured out that his powers are based on the colour spectrum. The people who were in the bank all said that they saw red right before they went crazy.”

“Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘seeing red’,” Felicity continued. “But then Cisco said that Barry showed up and everyone stopped. So, we think that red and yellow might reverse the effects of whatever he does to people. Do you know what makes your lightning show up when you run?”

Barry didn’t think it would be a good idea to tell everyone that thinking of Iris made his lightning more potent, as making him run faster. “It just happens when I run. Besides, I can’t just keep running up and down the city every time this guy strikes.”

“That’s right,” Oliver said. “So you guys go back to STAR Labs and try to find this guy, while Barry and I learn what it’s actually like to protect the city.”

“Sure,” he grinned. “Just tell me where we’re going and I’ll run us both-”

“Touch me and I’ll break your fingers.”

As everyone got ready to leave, grabbing food and coffee for the journey, Caitlin pulled Barry to one side. “Everything cool?”

“Yeah, I just…Look, Barry, I know we trust Oliver, but that’s because we know him. Dr Wells isn’t exactly pleased about the Flash working with someone he doesn’t know. Do you think we should tell him who the Arrow is?”

But Barry shook his head. “That’s not my secret to tell, Cait. But don’t worry, we’re keeping safe.”

Caitlin bit her lip, worried, and Barry hugged her unexpectedly, wanting to reassure her. “We’ll be fine. And if it means anything, I like Prism too.”

She smiled hesitantly. “Thanks, Barry. And – well, I’d really appreciate it if you not die. I’ve seen the Arrow work and I’m not even sure I’m that good of a doctor.”

***

“You _shot_ me!”

“Felicity said you heal fast.”

“So you decided to shoot me?”

“You’re alive, aren’t you?”

“YOU SHOT ME!”

“Stop complaining, Barry,” Oliver scoffed. “I have shot people for less. In fact, I almost shot you when I heard about your penchant for giving the people you fight silly names.”

“Oh, you mean like Deathstroke and the Huntress?”

Oliver just chuckled as they walked back from the warehouse. Despite aforementioned healing properties, Barry still felt sore where Oliver had shot him. Four times. Barry showed up and Oliver said that he was going to shoot him in the back – to which Barry had replied that the whole super speed meant that he was just going to catch it…which he did. The problem was that he hadn’t seen the other automatic crossbows position in the other direction, which shot him a few times. After Oliver rather unceremoniously yanked them out of his back, he had to admit the training that he’d given him, where he advised him how to case a place before running in, was rather helpful.

Still, he didn’t have to _shoot_ him.

Diggle was waiting for them in the car. “You two look like you had fun,” he said cheerfully, starting the engine. “You okay, Barry?”

“Yeah, fine. I forgot to ask, how’s the baby?”

“She’s great,” Diggle asked. “She’s growing everyday.”

“And if you’re after the position of godfather, it’s taken,” Oliver grinned, turning around to face him. Barry pouted and Diggle chuckled.

“Look, I had to go with the best choice. I need someone who will shoot anyone who hurts my baby girl, and you don’t strike me as that type.”

“Well, I can…run her out of there really fast. Look, when I come to visit I can show her my super speed thing – I’ll bet she’d appreciate that more than some stupid arrows.”

Diggle’s expression darkened. “You are not going anywhere near my daughter with those powers of yours, understand?”

Barry swallowed. “S-Sure. So does that mean you and Lyla are going to get married anytime soon?”

Then it was Oliver’s turn to laugh. “Yeah, Dig, when is that happening?”

“I don’t know, when are you and Felicity happening?”

When Oliver made a huffing noise, Diggle nodded. “That’s what I thought. Hey, Barry, how’s everything going with Bette?”

“Good, I think. They should be out any minute, and then we’ll know. Bette’s losing a little, though, being locked up like that all the time.”

“I can imagine,” he nodded sympathetically. “We’re not built for things like that. Any idea of what she’s going to do when she’s done?”

“Well, that was supposed to be her last tour, so she was thinking of teaching I think. Or maybe going into – oh, sorry. Hey, Cait. Where? On my way.” Barry pocketed his phone. “Bivolo.”

Olivier gave him a serious look. “Remember what I said, Barry.”

But Barry just waved a hand. “Yeah, yeah, I heard you. What, are you gonna shoot me again?”

He sped out of the moving car (which Diggle would reprimand him for later), and back to the lab to get his suit, before listening to the coordinates that Cisco was giving him. They led to a workshop downtown, abandoned and musty, and Barry stole up to the door, vibrating his hand so that the doorknob fell off. He slipped through the door, finding himself in a dark room where the early evening light filtered in through open windows, making the curtains flutter in the breeze. He frowned as he came face to face with a portrait of a man in black with silvery eyes. What was this place?

“I know you’d come for me,” a voice said, and he turned. Bivolo was standing in the middle of the room, oddly-shaped tinted glasses on his face, a sardonic grin twisting his pale features. “When I attacked those people at the bank…it made you angry.”

Barry sped to him and shoved him up against the wall. Too late, he noticed that it made his glasses fall off, and then he was looking into red eyes. He felt nausea roil in him and his head started to pound, making all the muscles in his body weak. Barry let go, shaking his head to clear it, but when he looked up Bivolo was gone.

“You shouldn’t have gone off by yourself,” Caitlin admonished him as she checked him over. Dr Wells wheeled closer.

“How are you feeling, Barry?”

“Fine,” he shrugged, confused. “I felt really weird for a little bit, confused, and then fine. I kind of wish I caught him, though.”

“You’re not the only one,” Cisco said. “I was watching the footage of the bank robbery – can you imagine what would have happened if you hadn’t gotten there in time?”

“Which is why we’re all glad that he did,” Felicity said encouragingly, but Caitlin didn’t look impressed.

“You’re just lucky you didn’t get yourself killed! What if he had a gun, or he whammied you properly, or-”

“Caitlin,” he snapped, suddenly tired of all her nagging. Honestly, did she not know how to do anything else? Did she have to doubt him at every turn? “I’m not Ronnie, alright? You’ve gotta stop treating me like I am.”

The entire room went silent, and Caitlin pressed her lips together, before putting her instruments away and walking silently out of the room. Barry looked at everyone, who didn’t look too impressed. “What?” he demanded.

“Not cool, Barry,” Felicity said, shaking her head, and walked out after Caitlin.

“Whatever,” he muttered, irritated. In addition to being shot in the back by Oliver and losing Bivolo a record-breaking three times, he’d run around so much that he’d forgotten his car at the precinct. He made his way there and almost ran into Eddie in the entrance, who was leaving.

“Any luck catching Bivolo yet?”

“Not yet,” he replied tightly. Why did he have to do everything? Weren’t they supposed to be police? Eddie looked taken aback.

“Well, I just thought – I mean, you’ve been out all day, and it’s not like we have the same resources as-”

“Look, get off my back, alright? I said I’d do it, I’ll do it! Unless you want to take a stab at being the fucking metahuman, Detective Pretty Boy.”

He stalked past Eddie and tried to walk up to his lab, but then he saw Captain Singh scowling at him. “Allen, where the hell have you been? I wanted you on this Bivolo thing hours ago – are you just dumping all your work on Chambers?”

“I had some stuff to look into,” he muttered back, looking around. The captain stared at him.

“Hey, how about you look at me when I’m talking to you?”

“Hey, how about _you back back off_?”

“Excuse me?”

“You know damn well I work just as hard as anyone else in this building, so I don’t need you constantly berating me to do my job. When it’s done, you will have it, alright?”

He marched away from him and made halfway up the stairs when Joe caught him. “Barry, have you lost your mind?”

“I’m sick of Singh talking to me like that!”

“He’s still our captain. Look, Eddie told me about you not catching Bivolo, but-”

“Wait,” Barry interrupted quietly, walking back down. “You’re just like all of them – like Tim and Carol, and the Arrow, and Wells, and everyone else in my whole life who never thought I could get the job done. You want to help me, Joe? Get my dad out of prison, since this is the place that put him there in the first place!”

Joe swallowed, studying him. “Barry, I need you to stay calm – I think you’ve been whammied-”

“I’m calm!” he snarled. “I’m calm, alright? When I’m not calm, _you will know_.”

Barry turned and walked out into the night, suddenly sick of all of them, with their doubt and their berating him and never, ever thinking he was good enough. But…wait. There was one person who’d never thought that about him, who was it? Maybe they could calm him down, make him stop thinking like this anger was going to eat him alive-

His phone rang shrilly, splitting the still night air, and he answered it. “Yeah?”

“Barry, it’s Oliver,” he said. “Eddie just called Felicity, he said you’ve been whammied.”

“Of course he did. He never could mind his own damn business.”

“Barry, this is exactly what I was talking about. You run into places without thinking, and now you’ve gotten yourself in trouble-”

Barry let out a bark of a laugh. “Okay, Oliver, how about this? Since you’re so goddamn smart, how about you come here and get me? I’ll tell you what, maybe you can try shooting me again!”

Barry hung up the phone and, letting that cruel rage fuel him, went to find the Arrow.

***

“I can’t believe he’s dressed like that,” Iris muttered as they made their way up to the offices. Laurel glanced at Hal, a few paces behind them, and sighed.

“He may have gotten a little too into the part.”

She was right – Hal, or ‘Lars’, as they were supposed to call him, was dressed in a suit and dark shades, and also had a headset attached to his ear. The headset was real, at least, but still. “Hal, you remember what we said?”

He didn’t say anything and Laurel frowned. “Hal? Hal – sorry, Lars.”

“Of course, Ms Lance.”

“I’m going to die,” Iris muttered, “aren’t I?”

“No, we’ll be fine. Look, show time.”

They were shown to the lobby of the army barracks, where the general would have his offices. Even though he was in the army, this place was allowed for civilians; martial law did not apply here. Despite the fact that she’d bluffed her way into a lot of buildings, there was something about the fact that it was the person who’d seen fit to cut into Bette like she was nothing more than an animal that made her nervous. Thankfully she had Laurel, who strode up to the front desk with all the confidence of someone who belonged there, Iris close behind. Hal followed at a purposeful, firm stride. “Good afternoon,” she said briskly. “I am ADA Laurel Lance, this is Iris West, and we’re here to see General Eiling.”

The soldier looked sceptically at their little group. “Do you have an appointment?”

“No, but he’ll want to see us,” Iris interjected smoothly. “We’re here to talk to him about Bette Sans Souci.”

The receptionist frowned but shrugged, dialling a number. “Sir? I have two women here…Yes, I know they don’t have an appointment – about Bette Sans Souci?...O-Of course, sir, I’ll send them right up…” she stammered her way through the rest of her words and Iris smiled to herself. Once she hung up, she turned back to them. “Go right through and follow the signs to his office.”

“Thank you,” Laurel said, smiling pleasantly. She turned back to Hal. “Lars? Stay here, we’ll be out soon.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Iris looked at him as she followed Laurel; he gave her a small, imperceptible nod. Even though she had to admit the headset might have been a little much, it turned out that it was useful: he was going to be able to hear everything they were saying while they were in there, so not only could he go in and get them if they needed help, but they had the conversation on record.

The general was grinning like a Cheshire cat when they walked in and sat down, and Iris wanted to throw his coffee all over him. “Ms West, Ms Lance,” he sat, folding his arms. “It’s nice to see you both – can I get you anything to drink?”

“No, we won’t be here long,” Laurel answered. “We’re here to make a request.”

“Oh?”

“I believe it was you who wanted to know about what I did when I investigated all of my ‘impossible’ things,” Iris continued pleasantly, pulling some files out of her bag. “I first told you that you’d have to read about them in the paper like everyone else, but then I found some things I thought you might be interested in.

“These,” she said, laying out some colour photographs, “are pictures of the molecular makeup of Bette’s cells from the past week, compared to those of a normal human after she underwent treatment that would save her life after what _you_ did to her. Notice the black spliced with the purple? That’s the mix of the material used to make black boxes and the shrapnel that fused with Bette’s DNA. Don’t worry if you don’t understand it. My friend, Dr Caitlin Snow, has provided a really helpful explanation. I’m just a journalist, so I found this all invaluable.”

All of the blood drained from the general’s face, so Laurel took over, as rehearsed. “What I have here are two recorded interviews, one from Bette herself about her treatment at your hands, and one from Dr Harold Hadley, the doctor who treated her. Both of them detail in great depth what happened at the facility where the experiments were carried out.”

“And,” Iris finished, enjoying the shock on Eiling’s features, “a collection of the interviews and reports you filed in relation to her death and accident, which meant you knew exactly what was going on and can’t feign ignorance. And finally, some pictures of the facility itself.” Courtesy of the Flash and Cisco more than anything else, really, but it was still a great help.

He studied them all, his face a tight mask of fury, and then flicked his eyes back upwards. “What do you want?” he snarled.

“Bette is alive and well,” Iris said, leaning forward, all pretence of friendliness gone. “I – we – want you to leave her alone, and all of this stays under wraps.”

“I’m not going to make you sign anything, general,” Laurel added. “But I think we both know that doesn’t need to happen in order for you to see where we’re coming from. After all, faked death and experimentation is very hard to excuse. I also want to add that Edward Thawne, Bette Sans Souci and Dr Harold Hadley are all my clients now, so I’ll take any action against them as suspicious.”

“And just so you know, these aren’t the only copies,” Iris added. “In case you get any ideas.”

The general regarded them both for a long moment, and for just a second Iris thought he’d say no and they’d both have bullets in them before Hal could say ‘My name is Lars’, but then he shrugged. “All of these dramatics were hardly necessary,” he scoffed. “Sergeant Sans Souci was due to be discharged anyway. Besides which, we’re moving on with much more… interesting projects.”

As he spoke his hand landed on a sheet of paper with large letters on the top. They were upside down and Iris could barely make out the words – Firestop? Finestore? – before Laurel interrupted. “Well, then I guess we understand each other. Bette will go back to her normal life, with no interruption from you, and we’ll chalk it up to a misunderstanding.”

“Right,” he said after a while, his grey eyes cold. “A misunderstanding.”

They left, Laurel walking out like she owned the place, Iris doing her level best to copy her and act like she wasn’t about to throw up, and collecting Hal on the way. It wasn’t until Hal opened the door of the car for them (“He’s still in character,” Laurel told her) and they were safely cruising away from Eiling and his secrets that Iris breathed a sigh of relief. “Do you do that all the time?” she demanded, and Laurel laughed.

“Way more than I should. Whether it’s army generals or crooked politicians or nasty businessmen, they always fold when you’ve got something on them. Of course, some of them get all pissy and may send goons after you, but I’m the Black Canary and you’re dating the Flash. Plus, I asked Oliver to put a tail on Eiling for the time being.”

Iris raised her eyebrows. “Do I want to know how he has a tail on an army general?”

“Nope.”

“Didn’t think so. So, what’s the plan?”

“Well, I have the day off, so how about we get some lunch, and then we could go see Lyla and the baby? Sara’s getting really big.”

“Sounds great,” Iris grinned. While Laurel and ‘Lars’ decided where they would get lunch, Iris tried to call Bette and Eddie. She got Bette straight away, given that she was home all day, and got a lot of excited and grateful squealing – mostly because she wanted to get out of the house (“I don’t know _what_ this man has done to our apartment, we need new everything”), but for whatever reason, she couldn’t get Eddie. She left a message on his cell and at the precinct, and then checked her email. She was unsurprised to find that yet more people were messaging her about parademons – and that one had definitely been sighted in downtown Metropolis.

Having been contacted over a dozen times about it, Iris and Barry had gone back in their own personal notes to figure out why people would start going on about them ten years after the first was spotted and seven years after Superman defeated a whole army of them. Barry, who’d lived in National City and therefore was a lot closer to the action than she was, remembered that they were odd winged creatures with black, leathery skin and glowing eyes. Iris only knew what Clark Kent and Lois Lane had reported in the paper after Superman got rid of them while she was in college – it was there where Jimmy Olsen had taken his first iconic picture of Superman (and the whole reason Iris didn’t talk to Linda for a month – she got to meet Lois Lane because she ws nearby when Jimmy took the picture). But Superman had defeated them before they could find out what they wanted, so they gradually faded from the public consciousness.

Iris wasn’t worried. Most likely Superman would take care of it before she went there for the journalist conferences in a couple of weeks. She didn’t want to be attacked by a load of weird aliens, thank you.

‘Lars’ dropped them off at a restaurant and followed them inside, where Laurel and Iris watched with a kind of fascinated horror at how much he could put away. When Laurel had to go answer a very strange-sounding call (“Nyssa, am I supposed to know what a Lazarus Pit is?”), Iris turned to him. “So, Lars.”

“Ms West,” he grinned.

“How are you doing?”

And it was probably the way she asked the question, but Hal knew she wasn’t just asking him how he was enjoying the ravioli. He chewed and swallowed thoughtfully. “Well,” he said quietly. “Today has been okay. I…was thinking about it the other day. Carol. And I still don’t know where she is. But I do know that wherever she is, she’d want me to be happy.”

“And are you?”

Hal didn’t reply and then grinned suddenly at something behind her. Laurel sat down next to them, her brow furrowed. “I swear, this League of Assassins bullshit is going to give me grey hairs by the time I’m thirty-five.”

“Yeah,” Hal replied. “I’m happy.”

They went to Lyla’s house next, leaving Hal to run off after more crime, and they spent the afternoon playing with baby Sara. Iris planned on going back to Laurel’s and getting some work done, but then she got the call.

“Hey, dad,” she answered. She very carefully helped Sara put a building block on another one. “Did you hear the news? I-”

“Iris, you have to come home right now,” he cut her off urgently. Her blood froze.

“What is it?”

“It’s Barry. He’s…Just get home, okay?”

***

Iris paced, cursed at the clock, looked at her phone, cursed at that, and then paced again.

She’d run out of Lyla’s house so fast she almost dropped her phone, and then her train seemed to take an agonisingly long time to get to Central City. All the time, she was calling for someone, anyone, to tell her what the hell was wrong with Barry. He wasn’t answering his phone. Her dad told her that a metahuman had messed with his head and that maybe she could calm him down.

Not twenty minutes later, he said that it was now too dangerous for her to go near him.

She called Cisco – no answer.

She called Eddie – the same.

She had more luck with Caitlin, but that was just a brief series of orders that obviously weren’t directed at her before she hung up.

When she called Felicity, all she got was everyone yelling at Barry to stop, but no one would tell her anything. Finally, she did something she was only ever supposed to do in emergencies – she connected herself to Barry’s intercom in the suit. She heard him screaming in rage and pain, and then it stopped suddenly. She was about to head out and find out what was wrong when Eddie called her, exhausted but relieved. “He’s fine,” he said, breathing fast. “I’m bringing him to his apartment.”

“Eddie, what the _hell_ happened?”

“It’s…a long story. We’ll be there soon, okay?”

Iris paced some more until she heard the key turn in the lock, and then the door opened. She briefly glimpsed Barry before he sped past her to the kitchen. “Barry?” she started, but Eddie pulled her back. He has a cut on his face and she stared at it. “Eddie, what happened?”

“Metahuman,” he answered shortly. “He made everyone angry, somehow, and he got to Barry. It wasn’t pretty.”

“Did he get to you too? What happened to your face?”

“Barry…might have gotten a little mad at me. Iris,” he added. “He’s fine now, I promise. We all are. But it’s Barry – he’s going to be beating himself up about this.”

Iris sighed and nodded. She could hear him now, making noise around the kitchen. “Yeah, okay. Thanks, Eddie. Did Bette tell you?”

“She didn’t have to – when I got back she’d done all the groceries the way she liked it. I don’t know how to thank-”

“Forget about. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

“Sure,” he nodded. “Bye, honey.

He kissed her on the cheek and left, and Iris shut the door before turning back to the apartment. “Bar?” No reply. “Barry, I know today must have been hard, but I’m here to talk about it if you want.”

Still nothing. Iris rubbed her eyes. Barry wasn’t going to talk to her until he was ready, but she wasn’t prepared to leave him alone, so she sat on the couch with her laptop, absently surfing the web. Eventually he came out and sat next to her but didn’t face her, still not saying anything. She kept typing but watched him out of the corner of her eyes; his hands were twisting and his shoulders were hunched. “I…” he swallowed. “I almost killed him.”

Iris stared. “Killed _who_?”

“Oliver. I don’t even know how, I was so mad I would have done anything to hurt him, all because of Bivolo.”

“But Barry, that wasn’t your fault.”

“I know that, Iris. I do. I just didn’t know I had so much anger in me, or that I kept it all in. I yelled at Caitlin and Felicity, and then I yelled at Singh and Joe and Oliver…” His voice shook. “And – I heard them, Iris.”

She blinked at him. “Heard them say what?”

“They wanted to call you to see if you could, uh, calm me down,” he mumbled. “But then Oliver said that they didn’t know whether I would…hurt you.”

“ _Barry_ …” she shifted, leaving her laptop on the arm of the couch and putting her arms around his shoulders. “You thought you would hurt me?”

“No, I didn’t, but they did. Iris, I don’t know what I would have done it I went further or hurt someone – the only reason the metahuman task force isn’t trying to hunt down the Flash is because Eddie convinced everyone that the evil metahumans are more of a threat than me. And it kind of made me realise that I’m not enough. To protect everyone, I’m not enough.”

“Barry, of course you’re enough,” Iris disagreed, stroking his hair, but he shook his head.

“No, to protect Central City, I’m enough. But – what if Bivolo attacked hundreds of people all at once? Or if he hit a bigger city, like Metropolis or Gotham? Or what if there’s an even bigger threat? Something that we’ve never seen before”

“Those places all have their own heroes, Barry.”

“I know, but…” He shook his head. “Forget about it, it’s stupid.”

She raised an eyebrow. “All good ideas started off as stupid ones, Barry. C’mere, let’s talk.” She pulled him down so he was resting his head on her lap, stretched across the couch, and kissed him on the forehead. “Spill.”

“Okay, I just – what if as well as people protecting their own cities, there was a kind of agreement that if there was a threat that they couldn’t handle, all the superheroes could call each other.”

Iris frowned briefly. “How do you mean?”

“Well, the only reason we caught Bivolo was because Oliver helped, but what if I didn’t know the Arrow? We would have been screwed. And what if aliens – actual aliens, not just giving technology to Hal and then running away – came to Central City? I’m not Superman, I’ve never dealt with those before.”

“That would be hard for us,” Iris admitted, and Barry nodded, his face lighting up as he picked up steam.

“Right. But if I could call him, or Supergirl, I’d have someone who knew what they were doing and could help. That way I wouldn’t be so out of my league.”

“That’s kind of amazing, Barry.”

“Thanks,” he said, but he sighed. “But I told you, it’s dumb. It’s not like I know Superman.”

He shifted, pillowing his cheek on his palm as he rested on her lap, and yawned. “Anyway, I have to work out how I’m not going to lose my job. Can you stay tonight?”

“Yeah, of course.” She patted his hair and tapped at her laptop again. It was a shame about Barry’s idea; she couldn’t imagine anything more secure than a whole team of superheroes banding together to protect everyone. But like he said, he didn’t know Superman. Iris was about to shut down her computer and work out how to get Barry to his room when he was obviously falling asleep on top of her, when she remembered something and sat up. No, Barry didn’t know Superman.

But _she_ knew someone who did.

“Bar?”

“Mm?” he said sleepily.

“Do you, um,” she started, opening up a word document, “think everyone should help everyone all the time? Like, on this hypothetical team.”

“No, because then there’s be arguments and the city might not trust it. Like, could you imagine Batman here? People would freak.”

“Right,” she agreed, typing it quickly. “And what about a headquarters?”

“Somewhere easy to get to, probably. And secret.”

“Good idea. And how much do you think they should all know about each other?”

“Not everything, but enough. Secret identities probably and basic stuff, but nothing too deep, in case people want to keep stuff to themselves.”

“That’s smart. What should you call it? The Super Team?”

“How did you get famous naming things? Barry laughed, yawning. “That name sucks. It should be like a society, or a league of…leather-wearing… ninja… turtles.”

“Okay, creativity tomorrow, Bar.”

They carried on like that, Iris asking questions and Barry answering them. She was surprised to find that Barry obviously had been thinking about this for a while, and perhaps Bivolo had given him the push. Finally, when Barry really was asleep and she had enough to go on, she opened up her email with shaking fingers.

_Hi Lois,_

_My guy in red has an idea that yours might want to think about. Sending over the notes now._

_Iris_

She waited on tenterhooks, wondering whether she’d open it today or the next day, whether Superman would go for it, what would”

_Iris._

_This is incredible. My guy says yes. Call me tomorrow and we’ll organise._

_Lois_

_PS._

_My boyfriend really wants your guy’s autograph._

***

“Barry – _Barry_!” she gasped as he moved lower down her neck. He just laughed, pulling her closer to him. “We have a plane to catch.”

“We’ll get there,” he said between kisses. “I’m the Flash, remember?”

“You’re the worst, is what you – _oh_!” He was vibrating his hand over her underwear, making her forget about the mountain of things they had to do before they left for Metropolis. And they probably would have been more distracted, too, had someone not chosen to interrupt them.

“Barry, I-”

“ _Oh my God_!” Iris shrieked, covering herself up, and Barry turned.

“What the – HAL! What are you doing here?”

Hal looked like he hadn’t just teleported into Barry’s apartment at seven-thirty in the morning. “I want to come.”

“Come _where_?” Barry demanded, irate.

“To Metropolis with you guys. Laurel said she and Oliver were going with you guys to start a super team with Superman in Metropolis, and I said I wanted to come, but Laurel said it was Barry’s idea, so I wanted to ask.”

“So you chose to ask _now_?” Iris groaned. He blinked at her.

“Well you’re leaving today, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So can I come?”

“Will it get you out of my apartment?”

“Not for long.”

Barry growled in frustration. “Yes, yeah, you can come. Iris will text you the details, now get out of here before I run you to the Pacific and throw you in.”

“Thanks, guys!” he grinned, and blinked away. Barry turned to Iris.

“I am _not_ sitting next to him on the plane.”

Iris buried her head in his shoulder.

Eventually, however, they got out of bed and got ready, because they did indeed have a lot to do. Barry had some stuff to collect at work and Wally to see, Iris had to talk to Caitlin and then meet up with Linda before everyone left for the conferences. Everything happened very quickly after Iris talked to Lois. Barry had awoken the next day to find that apparently he was starting a superhero team with Superman. “And friends,” Iris had added. “Lois said he wanted to bring friends.”

So of course Barry had asked Laurel and Oliver, both of whom thought it was a good idea, so they were coming too. They didn’t know who Lois was bringing, though they supposed she would tell them at the conferences. They went to CCPD first, where Barry was handing in his letter for time off and giving some last-minute instructions for Jesse, who’d be in charge for the week until Barry got back. It helped when your friend was an accomplished biomedical engineer, because that meant that she could write him notes excusing him from work. Of course it also helped that he’d lost it at work, so Caitlin could say that his ‘lightning psychosis’ was also a major cause of stress.

“We need to get her something nice from Metropolis,” Iris said as she watched him lock up. He came to a stop in front of the board that had stuff to do with his mother’s case and sighed, and she came to grasp his hand.

“We’ll get him, Barry. We’re just…on pause.”

Barry had told Iris about the mysterious threat that he’d found in his apartment two weeks before, and even though Iris had seen threats like that in her line of work, they both mutually agreed to stop looking for the time being. “We do have a lot on our plates,” he admitted. “Okay, so I’ll call you before we’re in the air.”

“Who’s going to tell Oliver that Hal’s coming?” Iris mused. “And how long before he wants to throw Hal out of the jet?”

“I’d give him an hour, I think they’re growing on each other.”

She laughed and kissed him. “Later, Flash.”

After she left to go meet Caitlin, Barry went to Queen Industries, keeping an eye on the time. Wally was already waiting for him, his expression a little apprehensive. “Ready?” Barry asked. Wally swallowed.

“I guess.”

“It’s just Coast City, next city over. You’ll be there in no time.”

Wally nodded and concentrated, and Barry took a deep breath. Inside a minute he was at the wide expanse of Ferris Air, Cisco already there with a truck and some equipment. Wally showed up a second later and Cisco grinned. “This is too dope!”

“You okay?” Barry asked as Wally swayed.

“Yeah. So, uh, remind me how this works again?”

“My pleasure. Barry here is running off to play with the big boys, but we can’t leave this place unprotected, right? Plus, if the Flash shows up wherever Iris is, people might catch on. But if he’s there _and_ here, it just looks like he’s expanding his horizons a little.” He studied Wally. “Yeah, the suit should fit.”

“I get a suit?”

“Yeah,” Barry answered. “It looks like mine so people will think it’s me. That way, you get first-hand experience of being a hero, but no pressure. Now, ready to practice?”

Wally nodded, more confident this time, and Barry got his own suit from the truck. Both of them stood at the beginning of the track while Cisco tapped some stuff on his iPad. “Okay, you guys,” he said. “We’re just gonna have you hitting targets for now, okay? That way Wally can get a feel of what it’s like in the suit and we can see what he needs to work on.”

Barry looked at Wally, who was concentrating on the target. “Ready, Flash?” he grinned.

“Ready, Flash.”

Amazingly, Wally was a lot faster than he would have thought, though he did miss the targets a couple of times. He had the same problem with Barry in that he kept overshooting and missing his mark, but after about an hour they got it. They came to a stop and Cisco handed them both water bottles, showing them Wally’s stats. “He’s not as fast as you, but he’ll get there. Now, are you sure you don’t want to tell Dr Wells? Because-”

“I’m sure,” Wally interrupted. Wally had made it clear to Barry that he didn’t know Dr Wells all that well, and anyway, only he, Linda, Iris and now Cisco knew about his powers, and he wanted to keep it that way for now.

“Okay, well we’re going to have to go about this a little different,” Cisco said. “Dr Wells knows that Barry’s out of town for a few days, but Barry already explained that he knows the person and he has it under control. To be honest, it was going to be Jay, but I guess he’s not cut out for this.”

When Barry visited Jay and Joan – finally – he was incredibly surprised to find that the experiment that Jay had been doing, and the accident happened afterwards, ended up affecting him in much the same way it did Barry.

Truth be told, it made him feel a little less unique.

But when Barry had told him about the whole ‘starting a super team’ thing, he’d declined, saying that kind of thing wasn’t for him and he wasn’t even sure what he was going to do with his powers. So now it would be Wally being the decoy, making sure that no one suspected that the Flash simply followed Iris West around whatever happened (even if it was true). Since Diggle was managing Roy as the Arrow, all their bases were covered. Wally pulled off his mask.

“That all sounds cool,” he said, grinning. “Looks like you’ve got another Flash.”

Cisco and Barry looked at each other and said, “Kid Flash.”

“You are both assholes.”

***

“And remember when-”

“I will look after them.”

“And they need to-”

“They’ll be safe.”

“Because the last time-”

“Iris!” Linda laughed. “You have to catch a plane with the rest of the conference people in four hours, and I have to figure out how to run a department until you guys get back. Would you stop panicking?”

Iris sighed and looked over at Chris and Annie, who were researching something far too happily to be anything safe. “Okay, you’re right. Sorry. How’s everything going with you?”

“Pretty good,” she admitted. “Apart from the scenes of mass panic you see before you, I think we’ve got everything under control.”

Linda was right. Since a third of the staff was away at the conferences, a lot of the people were handing their work on to the other writers. Iris had a pretty full workload so she was only giving away half, but she was confident that she could get most of it done. You know, in between helping Barry start his team of superheroes. “And how are you getting ready for the award show?”

“I’m thinking my natural fabulousness will overcome the lack of sleep I’m going to have for the next few days. So, how’s Caitlin? I haven’t seen her in a while.”

“She’s good,” Iris answered. She’d just come from having coffee with her, to ask her something. She’d been looking into what she had found of Eiling’s desk and had come up with something called F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M – but she had no idea what that was, since she had no experience with nuclear physics. Caitlin had promised to look into it, but they were both sceptical as to what an army general would want with a project that involved nuclear fission.

“Happy that Barry’s away for a few days, so she gets a break,” Iris continued, and Linda nodded.

“We need to go out together once you get back. Drunk Caitlin is a riot.”

“Great idea. Has Wally talked to you about the Flash thing?” she asked, lowering her voice to a whisper.

“Yeah – I can’t believe I didn’t notice it before! Because I thought the vibrating thing was-”

“Lin.”

“Sorry. But I guess this is our life, right? We’re both dating…superheroes. Kinda.”

“Life in Central City,” Iris sighed. “And Linda-”

“Your staff writers will carry the True North torch as long as you are away, I will make sure of it,” Linda interrupted. “Now go away. Don’t you have a Lois Lane to meet?”

***

“Iris, you can’t stand outside the building until she comes out. You’re going to have to actually go inside.”

Iris tore her gaze away from the globe sat atop the building, the words _The Daily Planet_ rotating around it, and looked at Barry. He nodded encouragingly, before grabbing her hand and leading her inside. “Barry!” she hissed, though she allowed herself to be led inside. “You can’t just…walk inside!”

“Well, how do you see all the people?”

“It’s the _Daily Planet_!”

“Yeah, and you have an appointment. One you’re going to miss if you don’t go up to the desk.”

Iris huffed. They’d arrived the night before and checked into all their hotels, where Mason gave them all their timetables for the conferences and workshops they’d be attending. Most people were scattered around Metropolis, but Iris was staying with Barry and the others at some hotel that Oliver booked, mostly so they could talk about everything without being looked at like they were insane. The whole thing was going to kick off with a party tonight, hosted by Bruce Wayne, and then everyone would be doing activities during the week. Since Barry didn’t actually have anything to do, he was here accompanying Iris so that she could make arrangements with Lois on where to meet everyone.

Barry was right, though – people were starting to stare at them, bickering in the lobby as people went about their day. Iris strode up to the desk, Barry in tow, and smiled at the receptionist. “Hi. Iris West for Lois Lane, please?”

“You must be her eleven o’clock,” he smiled. He handed them two placards. “Top floor, she’ll be expecting you.”

Iris’ hands were shaking as they rode the gilded elevator, and she had the urge to fix her hair again. Barry squeezed her fingers. “You’re going to be fine. She already loves you.”

“You know how you felt when you were watching the Particle Accelerator turn on?”

“Yeah…”

“That,” she said as they stepped out into the newsroom, “is exactly how I feel at this moment.”

“Iris, _breathe_ ,” he laughed, his hands on her shoulders. “You’ll be fine. Now, we just have to find her.”

While Iris looked for someone to tell them where her desk was, Iris took in the place. When she and Felicity came to visit Linda at NYU, which was a few streets over, she’d drag them both to this building so she could look up at it, dreaming of all the stories that went on behind its walls. And now she was in here. “Okay,” Barry said, walking back over to her, “she’s got a corner office, so – Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah, sorry,” she laughed, wiping her eyes. “Just – overwhelmed.”

Barry smiled and took her hand, and they both looked out for Lois. Most people ignored them, wrapped up in their own work and no doubt troubled because of the conferences themselves, and Iris heard lots of shouted conversations as they tried to get their stories together for the evening run. Then they saw her.

“…Lana, I don’t – yes, I hate LutherCorp as much as the next person, but I can’t just go barging in there without complaint. Because I really don’t want to go to jail again – Oh! Lana, let me call you back, my eleven o’clock is here.” She hung up the phone and smiled at them. “Iris West – it’s so good to meet you, finally!”

A subtle poke in the ribs reminded Iris that she was supposed to shake the woman’s hand and form words. “Y-You too. Um. Ms Lane.”

“Please don’t call me that,” she laughed. She was slightly taller than Iris expected, with dark brown hair down by her shoulders and friendly hazel eyes. She looked at Barry, who waved. “Who’s this?”

“Barry Allen,” he answered cheerfully. “I’m the boyfriend.”

“So we both like the nerdy type, huh?” Lois grinned, winking at her, and she laughed.

“I guess so.”

“Are you a reporter too?”

“No, I’m a CSI.”

“CSI, huh? Wait, you must be the Barry from the dedication, right? Scientists and storytellers? I thought that was so adorable. Hey, Kenny’s our science guy, I’m sure he’d love to hear about Harrison Wells.”

Unsurprisingly, Barry’s face lit off, and he sped off as soon as Lois directed him to Kenny. She gestured for Iris to sit. “So, how is he with you writing about a guy in tight red leather?”

“He is…surprisingly okay with it.”

Lois regarded her. “I’ll bet he is. Listen, Iris, I’m as out of my depth as you are. I mean, Superman has friends, and I’ve even met a couple, but I’ve never done this before.”

“The Flash definitely has a lot more friends than I thought,” she admitted. “So you said we’re meeting tonight?”

“That’s the plan. There’s the party tonight, and then after the speeches, excuse yourself. You, the Flash and his friends will meet on top of the Wayne Tower and we can see if we can get this thing off the ground.”

Iris nodded. Oliver managed to get Laurel, Hal and Felicity tickets, being Oliver Queen, so she could give them the signal so they all arrived together. “Sounds like a plan.”

“Okay, now for more important stuff,” Lois said, leaning back in her chair. “How the hell did you get held up by the Calendar Man?”

***

Iris glared at Barry as he took another flute of champagne from a waiter as he floated past everyone in a silver jacket. “I hate you.”

“The benefits of not being able to get drunk.”

“That stuff tastes like heaven, and I can drink more than one because I’ll be a mess afterwards.”

“Please. You’re always going to be beautiful, Iris.”

She blushed underneath all her makeup. “Nice save. Are you having fun?”

Barry nodded, grabbing a small bowl of shrimp cocktails for them to share. Iris had been to parties like this before, but given that the Daily Planet was mostly owned by Wayne Enterprises, they’d gone all out. It was being held at the Four Seasons, which made Iris grateful she was invited – she’d never be able to afford this place otherwise. They’d already seen Lois and Clark, and several people that Iris already wanted to see at the conferences, and there was a band playing standards on a stage.

“Look, there’s Oliver,” Barry said, pointing, and Iris tried not to laugh. Oliver and Felicity were by the doors, looking fresh and beautiful and utterly failing at looking like they didn’t want to dance with each other. “I’m going to go make them less awkward. I’ll be right back, okay?”

Iris waved him off and then apologised as she bumped into someone. “Sorry,” she said quickly, “I didn’t see you there.”

“That’s alright.” The speaker was a woman, about her age, with light blue eyes. “Hey, I know you. You’re Iris West, right? The blogger.”

“I write too, actually. I’m sorry, though, I don’t know you.”

“You must not be from here, then.” She held out a hand. “Lacey Luthor.”

It was pure self-control that stopped Iris from turning on her heel and walking away before she said something that would get her kicked out. Of course, the Planet was mostly owned by Wayne Enterprises, but LutherCorp owned the next biggest piece. She took the hand offered to her. “Nice to meet you.”

“I’m sure it’s exciting to be at an actual journalistic conference,” she continued, flipping her hair. “I’ve been going since I was small, but when we hold them the parties are a little more…tasteful.”

“I’m sure,” Iris said tightly. “So, what do you do? Unless you run your uncle’s company?”

“I’m the Vice President, actually. It’s not quite the same as writing for the local paper, but-”

“You know, I just spotted my boyfriend looking lost,” she cut her off. “It was nice to meet you, Stacey.”

“Lacey.”

“Uh-huh.”

Iris looked around for Barry, glimpsing Mason dancing with his wife as she did, and found him in the middle of the dance floor. He instinctively pulled her to him as the band started up a slow song. “Whoa, who pissed you off?”

“I just ran into someone you know. Lacey Luthor.”

Barry blinked at her, but she didn’t miss the shadow of pain that passed over his eyes even as they swayed. “Oh,” he said quietly. He swallowed. “That’s...Did you say anything?”

“I was too busy trying not to punch her teeth out,” Iris said. “She kept going on about how she was VP of her dad’s company. I’m doing okay. I think she let something amazing get away. Even if I am just a writer for a ‘local paper’, I think I’m doing pretty damn well.”

“Because you’re dating the Flash?”

“No. Because I’m dating Barry Allen.”

Barry’s face broke out into a smile and he leaned down to kiss her, forgetting that they were surrounded by people, and that somewhere in the room Hal was likely stealing all the finger food, and that they were actually here to meet up with Superman. When he was with Iris, he always felt like they were the only two people in the world. “Mm. You got any more exes running around here?”

“I hope not. Oh, you know who I saw? Cat Grant.”

Iris gasped. “No _way_! I need to get her in a room with Mason, I promised Linda I would find out what happened in 1995 to make him stop smiling. I think she’d appreciate that over the cute blonde Jimmy’s dating.”

“Is this what you guys do at these things?” he asked. “Catch up on journalistic gossip?”

Iris thought for a moment. “Pretty much. Look, the speech is starting.”

Barry looked up to see that Bruce Wayne had stopped the band and was tapping the microphone, a drink in his hand. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he began pleasantly. “Thank you for coming…mostly because this party cost me a pretty penny and I need you all to drink the champagne.” He paused for polite laughter. “Thank you. In all honestly, and I do not say this because I own half the papers in this room, these conferences are a testament…”

“Sure likes to talk, doesn’t he?” Barry muttered as he continued. Iris nodded.

“Yeah, it’s all the same. He’ll thank the shareholders and then the people who run the companies and then the writers. Same old, same old.”

“Iris,” someone whispered. It was Lois and Clark, who’d been out before judging by the fact that Perry White kept yelling about how Kent wasn’t writing the sports section. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with an easy smile and black-rimmed glasses. “Iris, Barry. Sorry I didn’t meet you before, I was…handling some things.”

“Are you guys headed home already?” Barry asked. Clark adjusted his glasses.

“Yeah, these things are lost on me. I go because Lo wants me to.”

“And now we’re done for the night,” Lois smiled. She gave Iris a meaningful look and then slipped out through the crowd, just as everyone erupted into applause as Bruce Wayne’s speech finished. “I think,” Iris said, grabbing Barry’s hand, “that’s our cue.”

***

This was how, about two hours later, Iris found herself alone on a freezing rooftop, pacing up and down and wondering whether she hadn’t made a terrible mistake when she climbed up the fire escape a few minutes earlier. “Iris,” came Barry’s voice in her earpiece. “Stop pacing.”

“You can’t see her,” Hal said. “How do you know she’s pacing?”

“She’s pacing,” Barry and Felicity said together.

“Can you blame me?” she said quietly, her breath coming out in little puffs of smoke. “I’m waiting for Lois Lane to turn up with _Superman_.”

“And friends,” Hal pointed out. “Who do you think he’s bringing? Do you think he knows Cyborg?”

“He doesn’t know Cyborg, Hal,” Oliver said. Iris rolled her eyes when everyone started bickering and then gasped when she heard someone walking up the fire escape.

“Everyone, shut up a minute.”

As she watched, two figures she recognised and one she didn’t spread out on the rooftop in front of her. “Lois…Jimmy? What are you doing here? And who are _you_?”

“I’m bringing a friend,” he explained simply. He turned to a man beside him, medium build and muscular, hair combed into a neat side parting. “And this is Steve Trevor. World War II pilot.”

Iris blinked several times at him. “World War…”

“Two,” he repeated, shaking Iris’ hand and smiling. “It’ll make sense in a minute.” He looked at Lois, who nodded.

“Shall we?”

“Let’s do it.”

Lois whistled and Iris spoke into the intercom, and what happened next Iris was sure she was going to tell her grandkids. Barry arrived first, obviously, standing way too close to her out of pure habit, she supposed. Then Hal turned up, appearing next to them in a spark of green light. Then they all looked up when they heard the wind picking up, and three figures, two in capes, settled on the floor. The final one Iris had only seen on the news – she’d wanted to write about him weeks ago, and now he was standing in front of her. There was a whipping noise and a woman grunting in exertion, and then a statuesque, well-muscled woman landed on the roof with a shield and lasso, her landing so forceful it shook the building slightly. Finally, there was a series of scrapes and whines, and Laurel and Oliver catapulted onto the roof, Felicity in Oliver’s arms. The group regarded each other and Iris opened her mouth, but Lois stopped her. “Wait. He’s late.”

“Of course he is,” Steve said, rolling his eyes.

“All of this talk of protecting the city,” Lois sighed. “And _he’s late for the meeting_.”

“Who’s late?” Barry asked her, voice warbled.

“I am not late,” a deep, growling voice said from behind the group gathered behind Lois, and Iris would never make fun of the fact that he was a grown man dressed as a bat. “I was canvassing.”

“Of course.” Lois cleared her throat. “In case you’ve all been living under rocks…Batman, Wonder Woman, the Martian Manhunter, Supergirl, and Superman. These are Jimmy Olsen and Steve Trevor. They’re a little more on the non-masked side. Iris?”

“R-Right,” she said. “There’s Felicity Smoak, she’s our tech support. And, um, the Green Lantern, the Black Canary, the Green Arrow…and the Flash.”

“Well, isn’t this a group,” Jimmy joked. “Sorry I didn’t bring my camera.”

Iris nudged Barry, who cleared his throat and stepped forward. “Okay. Uh, thank you for coming, everyone. I’m the Flash. I called this…meeting because I was concerned that, with more and more threats hitting our cities, it would be beneficial to us to work together to form an organised response in case we encounter ones that we can’t face on our own.”

“Why now?” Batman growled. “We’ve faced down threats before.”

“Yes, but the world is changing,” Oliver answered. “Threats aren’t content to stay where we’re used to them. There are metahumans in Star City, more violent criminals are going to Central.”

“It makes sense,” Supergirl added. “Some of us are more experienced than others – we would benefit from something like that.”

“Exactly,” Barry said. “For someone like me, who started doing this two months ago, I’d benefit from learning from someone like Wonder Woman, who’s been doing this for…”

“Decades,” she put in calmly.

“Right, decades. Wait, _decades_?”

“Six or seven.”

Batman regarded them all for a minute, and then gestured for Superman to talk to him. Everyone started whispering to each other, and Barry turned to Iris. “Iris, do we know her?”

“Know who?”

“Supergirl. She looks really familiar.”

“Because she’s _Supergirl_.”

“No,” Barry whispered, glancing back at her. “I don’t know, maybe I met her in college?”

“I don’t think you know Supergirl, Barry,” Iris whispered back.

“Barry!” Supergirl exclaimed, making everyone look at her. “Barry Allen, I _knew_ it!”

“Oh my God. You know Supergirl.”

“Yeah, but I…” Barry’s eyes widened. “Kara? Kara Danvers?”

“Unbelievable,” Laurel laughed quietly. “How do you know Supergirl?”

“We went to high school together!” he exclaimed. “Wait, your cousin is Superman? That means Clark Kent is Superman, right?”

Batman made an irritated noise. “You don’t know that.”

“Actually, I’m pretty sure I do,” Hal added helpfully. “I have super-hearing, and they’ve been whispering to each other’s names during this whole conversation. They’re dating…” he pointed to Jimmy and Kara. “…and so are they.”

Clark and Lois stared at him. “How do you do that?” Clark wanted to know.

“Alien technology. Not like you, though. Or you, green guy,” he added to the Martian Manhunter. He gave them through steely eyes.

“Noted.”

“You humans,” Wonder Woman mused, “are awfully compulsive.”

“Humans? Are you an alien, too?” Felicity asked.

“Not an _alien_ ,” Kara explained. “A goddess.”

“Demigoddess,” she corrected, smiling. “Well, Amazon, really.”

“I knew this was a bad idea,” Oliver said.

“How?” Laurel asked.

“Because it was Barry’s idea.”

“Hey! Oliver-”

“ _Barry_!”

“Alright,” Batman declared. “By my count, that’s four secret identities revealed, so we’re pretty much in this now.” He raised his hand and pressed a button. “I hope no one’s afraid of heights.”

“Why would…” Iris trailed off as they all heard a rumbling engine below them. Barry zipped to the edge of the roof. “No way! Is that the…”

“Batmobile. It’s no ‘Fastest Man Alive’, but it gets the job done. Now,” he smiled form underneath his mask, “who wants a ride?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not even sorry.


	29. The Brave and the Bold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the world's greatest heroes meet an otherworldly threat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you love DC, you will love this (i hope)  
> if you like WA fluff, you will also hopefully love this  
> best if you love both though ;)  
> NSFW

_Hey everyone,_

_So if you’ve been paying attention to my Twitter, or even if you know what goes on in the world of journalism, you know I’m in Metropolis for the Daily Planet conferences. And if any of you know a damn thing about me, you know that I’m probably going to spend this entire thing fangirling over Lois Lane._

_Don’t worry about any weird stuff you may encounter for the next two weeks, I’ve got people covering it. You also may want to watch this space for something special. ;)_

_As always, believe in the impossible_

_True North_

_P.S. I may be able to look into that whole parademon thing, if I have the time._

Iris posted the update and then pocketed her phone before looking up at the streets of Metropolis as they left the city. Lois, Oliver, Laurel, Felicity, James, Wonder Woman and Steve were all here with her as Batman drove them… _somewhere_ (she would soon discover that he wasn’t one for the words), while Clark, Kara and the Martian Manhunter flew behind them. Barry was running behind them, and thoroughly unimpressed by their speed. When you were the fastest man alive, eighty miles an hour was apparently pretty slow.

I’m gonna fall asleep, Iris

_I can’t help that_

You can’t get him to go faster?

_You want me to look Batman in the eye and tell him we’re not going fast enough._

Noted

Iris had no idea where they were going, but she was trying to remain calm. Lois was talking to Steve about something, while James was talking to Felicity (apparently they had someone in common, but Iris couldn’t think who that could be). After a second, she noticed that someone was looking at her, and she looked up to see Wonder Woman looking at her. “Um,” she said intelligently. “Hello.”

Diana didn’t say anything for a while, only regarding her through those otherworldly, golden brown eyes. “Iris West,” she said calmly. “I’ve read about you.”

Iris refrained from saying ‘I dressed up as you for Halloween in sophomore year’, because she was certain that a seemingly immortal demigoddess wouldn’t be impressed by that. “I’ve read about you, too.”

“Did Catwoman really send a tabby cat after you?”

“Yes,” she answered immediately. “And don’t listen to what Barry says, that thing really was trying to kill me.”

“I see.” There was a ghost of a smile on her lips. “That’s…interesting. In any case, it’s nice to meet you. And your friend, the sports writer?”

“Linda?”

“Yes, Miss Park. I greatly enjoyed her expose, I read it last year. Women like her give me hope for this world.”

Iris beamed proudly. “I will make sure to tell her that.”

“Okay, everyone,” Batman called in his gravelly voice. “Fair warning, we’re going into a tunnel.”

Unbeknownst to Iris, they had made it all the way to the mountains, flying above the sea, and as she watched the lush greenery parted to let the sleek Batmobile in. She saw Clark, Kara and the Martian Manhunter slipped in too, and a streak of red let her know that Barry was safe as well. They passed through a tunnel of rock and minerals, before the Batmobile finally came to rest on a raised podium. The engine switched off and the lights came on, before Batman turned off the seatbelt sign. “Everyone out,” Batman said firmly.

Laurel helped her down from the car, whistling. “Okay, I can’t tease Oliver about how dark the Foundry is anymore.”

“Where are we?” Kara asked, floating down from the air, her cape billowing behind her.

“I call it the Secret Sanctuary,” Batman answered. He crossed to a set of terminals carved into the side of the rock (and Felicity’s eyes popped open), tapping several keys before the Batmobile disappeared through a shaft in the ground. Clark cleared his throat.

“What did I tell you about building secret hideaways in Metropolis? We had a deal.”

“We’re not in Metropolis, we’re in Rhode Island.”

Barry, who had appeared behind Iris, cursed. “That thing took you guys to Rhode Island?”

“You’re not the only one who’s fast,” Batman smiled, “ _Flash_.”

“What happens now?” Oliver asked the group, and Batman nodded.

“I was hoping we could talk some more…” They were interrupted by a klaxon going off and then someone approaching, yelling something. Everyone in a mask or a costume immediately got into ready position, Barry pulling Iris behind him, and waited.

“Mr Wayne, Mr Wayne!” they shouted, and Iris was shocked to discover that it was an old man with white hair and a cardigan. Also, “Mr Wayne? You don’t mean…”

“YOU’RE BRUCE WAYNE?” Hal demanded. Batman sighed.

“Alfred, I hadn’t quite gotten to that part yet…”

“Man, I owe Cisco fifty,” Felicity muttered, but Alfred ignored them.

“Sir, we have a security breach in the south quarter.”

“Who?” he growled. “Nobody knows about this place but me.”

“They came in through one of the underground pools, I believe.”

“Looks like we’ve got our first threat,” Clark said firmly. “Is Victor here?”

“He’s…charging.”

Before anyone could ask what that meant, Clark continued. “Everyone follow me and be on your guard. You have no idea how many times I’ve been stabbed to death when things like this happen.”

Iris looked at Lois as they began to move. “Is he kidding?”

“No, he really isn’t.”

Eventually they made it into a cave not unlike the one they’d entered through, only this one had a shallow pool that disappeared into rock. There was a large chunk missing, and next to it stood a man with long, shaggy hair and tattoos covering most of his mostly-naked body. Laurel whistled and Bruce growled. “Hands up and turn around.”

And Arthur Curry, King of the Seven Seas, turned and gave him a bored look. “Who’s gonna make me?”

***

“Let me see,” Wonder Woman – Diana, Iris reminded herself – said, “if I have this right.”

She looked around the table at everyone, who had since taken their masks off when they realised the prospect of secret identities around three reporters and the aliens who were related was futile.

“Go ahead, Di,” Lois laughed. “I can’t quite believe it myself.”

“Clark is Kara’s cousin.”

“Right,” they said together.

“Kara went to high school with Barry.”

“Uh-huh,” he said.

“Barry is friends with the Green Arrow.”

“Oliver Queen,” he said pleasantly. “Pleasure.”

“Oliver is Felicity’s boss.”

“Most dangerous job of my life,” she muttered.

“Felicity met Iris in college.”

“Right.”

“And a young man named…Shot Glass?”

“Winn Schott,” Felicity told her. “He was the only guy at college who could hack better than me.” Kara laughed.

“He’s going to be so pissed that he missed this.”

“Iris,” Diana continued, “is best friends with Miss Park.”

“Linda,” Iris informed the group.

“Linda met James at NYU.”

“Correct,” he said.

“Where he took the picture of Clark to go with Lois’ article.”

“I remember that,” Lois said fondly. “Small world.”

“Mr Curry, where do you fit into all this?”

Iris still couldn’t believe that Jay’s best friend was Aquaman and, judging by his expression, Barry wasn’t quite so impressed. “I can’t believe you never told me you’re Aquaman, Arthur.”

“So you could run around asking me about the impossible?” He paused, chuckling, and pointed at Iris. “Or so you could tell _her_? She’d put it on Twitter.”

“He’s right,” Iris pointed out, “I would. My dad said thanks for the fish, by the way.”

“I’m glad he liked it.”

“He’s Jay’s best friend,” Barry answered the group. “Jay’s basically like my older brother.”

“He told me what you were doing, I thought I’d check it out. Besides, I’ve got some threats that I might want some help with.”

“We’re honoured you could join us, Mr Curry. And…” Bruce sighed and pointed at Hal, who was teleporting from place to place, looking at everything. Bruce had called it the great hall, this place with the U-shaped table around which they were all sat, the dozens of television screens mounted on the walls, and gadgets in corners. “That?”

“I believe Iris and Felicity are responsible for him,” Oliver answered, amused. Felicity huffed.

“In my defence, I was trying to get True North out of a funk because her boyfriend was in a coma!”

Barry blinked. “Hey, don’t blame me because you two decided that breaking and entering was more fun than staying in and watching movies.”

“We found him,” Iris said quickly. Laurel rolled her eyes.

“Hal, stop that.”

“Sorry,” he said breathlessly, appearing back at the table. “Some of your stuff is pretty cool.”

“’Pretty cool’?” Bruce repeated. “I have amassed this equipment over ten years, six continents, and four technological evolutions.”

Hal looked around. “Some of your stuff is pretty cool,” he repeated. Clark cleared his throat.

“Hank,” he said, addressing the man who they knew as the Martian Manhunter. He had changed into his human form, a tough but friendly man called Hank Henshaw. “Is everything alright with the DEO?”

“Everything’s fine,” he answered. “Alex and Winn are taking care of it, but we’ll be able to get back quickly if we need to.”

“Good. Well, like Barry said, it would be useful for everyone to come to some agreement about how to deal with certain threats that hit our cities. Even though I know we’ve been managing everything well on our own and that we have a good set of communications, it makes sense that, being who we are, we can form an orderly response.”

“However,” Lois added, “it’s almost midnight and some of us have to work in the morning, so how about we leave all that discussion for tomorrow?”

“Lois is right,” Bruce agreed. “Clark, Lois, Iris, Kara and James, there’ll be a car to take you to and from Metropolis at the beginning and end of the day for work. Your bags…” he pointed to a corner, where their belongings had appeared as if from nowhere. Seeing Iris’ face, Diana laughed. “Bruce has always worked faster than most.”

Alfred seemed to appear from nowhere again, his hands clasped behind his back. “I can show you to your rooms, if you wish.”

Everyone gathered up their bags and followed Alfred down the hall – apart from Clark, Diana and Bruce, who appeared to already have something to discuss. Kara and James were the first to wish everyone goodnight, disappearing into a room together, before Steve said that he had to get up early for flight exercises the next day and Arthur picked the room closest to the pools. Alfred continued, depositing Hank and Lois into rooms, gliding past those that said ‘Tim’, ‘Cassandra’ and ‘Dick’, before turning to Barry and Iris, who were at the front. “Miss West,” he said pleasantly. “Since you will be one of those heading to Metropolis for the conferences tomorrow, I have taken the liberty arranging a wakeup call for you. What would you like for breakfast?”

“Oh,” she said, surprised. “Um, thank you, Mr Pennyworth.”

“Alfred, please.”

“Okay. Um, coffee and toast will be fine. Maybe some fruit?”

“Certainly. I’ll knock in the morning for your lunch order. Mr Allen?”

Barry and Iris looked at each other, considering the black hole that Barry called a stomach. “Uh,” he said. “I’ll have whatever Clark’s having. I get the feeling we’ll have the same appetite.”

Alfred nodded knowingly. “I see. And do you have a request for where your room will be?”

They both turned to look at Laurel and Hal automatically, who were already ridiculously handsy with each other. “As far away from them as possible,” Barry muttered, and Iris tried not to laugh. Alfred glanced past them, the same expression on his face.

“Noted.”

***

Iris soon learned that when Alfred Pennyworth made breakfast, one did not simply have coffee and toast.

She was sadder than she expected to leave her room, which had a four-poster king-size bed, a desk with a high-speed computer, an ensuite bathroom, and a plasma screen. She was also sad to leave Barry, who was doing her best to try to convince her to stay with his best adorable boyfriend look as she ran around trying to get her stuff together. “You could stay here,” he told her. “Didn’t you say they’re going to be on TV? Bruce has, like, a million channels.”

“Barry, Lois Lane is giving a talk today,” she answered, looking for her lucky necklace. It was a star, one that Barry had bought for her right before he went into the coma but never got to give to her until afterwards. “I will cut off my arm and sell it on the black market to watch this. Besides, Linda asked if I could go to see Arturo Rodriguez give a talk and get his autograph.”

“Do you think she’ll be more excited about that or Wonder Woman wanting her autograph?”

“I don’t know,” she said idly, rifling through her bag. “He was her favourite sports writer when we were kids, she called him ‘Hot Shot Rod’.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t tell Wally about that.”

“Or about the fact that his girlfriend’s ex is now dating my boyfriend’s ex. God, _where_ is my necklace?”

Barry made a noncommittal noise and started studying the list of DVDs that Bruce had given them. She turned to look at him, eyes narrowed. “Bar?”

“Mm?”

“Where’s my necklace?”

“What necklace?” he asked idly.

“The lucky star.”

He shrugged, still looking at the list even as the tips of his ears went red. “Uh, I don’t know.”

Iris walked over to him. “Really? You have no idea?”

“…no.”

She regarded him. Her necklace was peeking out from under one of their pillows behind him. “Uh-huh. And what do you call – _Barry_!”

Before she could swipe it, he grabbed her and kissed her, laughing when he tried feebly to get away from him. “God, I hate you,” she grumbled as she kissed him. She stopped and glanced in the bedside mirror. “Great, and now my make-up is all messed up.”

“Do you have to go?”

“Barry, you’re responsible for getting America’s superheroes in one building to start a team to protect it. Don’t you think you should get to know them?”

“I didn’t do that, you did.”

“Nuh-uh,” she shook her head. “I was but a messenger. I essentially typed up everything you said and sent it to Lois. It was your idea.”

Barry ducked his head at that and she cradled his face in her hands and then kissed him on the forehead. “If there’s anyone who can get this thing off the ground, it’s you, Barry. I mean, if you can get Oliver and Hal to agree on something, I’m pretty sure you can do anything.”

“The thing they agree on is that they both like to torture me.”

“I didn’t say it was going to be _easy_.”

Iris kissed him goodbye and left him to go downstairs, hoping that she wasn’t too late for coffee. She found James and Lois there studying their itineraries for the day since they’d obviously finished eating, with Alfred cutting fruit at the counter. Clark and Kara were still eating, hidden behind a stack of bacon, eggs and toast, and both stopped to look guiltily at her when she walked in. Iris just laughed. “Don’t worry, guys, once you’ve seen someone eat that much – at superspeed, no less – you’ve pretty much seen everything. Is there enough left for me?”

“Of course,” Alfred said easily. He placed a tray in front of her with freshly-buttered toast, sliced apples and grapes, and coffee. “Wow, can we make this an annual thing?”

“Bruce always has the best coffee,” Lois said. “It’s imported from Brazil, or something.”

Clark made a face and she laughed. “Ignore him, they’ve been trying to one-up each other for years. Every time we have dinner with him and Selina, it’s the same thing. ‘My chocolate is imported from France, I can fly to France in ten minutes; I can _buy_ France, I can _lift_ France’.”

“Wow, Clark and Bruce are a lot like Barry and Oliver,” Iris laughed. She sniffed. “Um, are those pancakes?”

“Alfred makes the most amazing pancakes,” Kara said, finishing her juice. Iris bit her lip, taking in the stack of pancakes with blueberries and syrup.

“Okay, maybe I’ll have a couple,” she said. “What’s everyone doing today?”

“I’m running a workshop on local reporting,” Clark said. “Then I’m going to that talk by Perry.”

“We’re all going to that talk at the Planet,” Lois said, rolling her eyes. “He’ll have our asses otherwise. James, I take it you’re showing off your pretty pictures today?”

“Ha-ha,” James said. He got up to get more fruit from Alfred, kissing Kara on the forehead on the way. “Yes, I’m running a workshop on how to take pictures of aliens, essentially. Although apparently I should be taking lessons from Iris and Felicity.”

“I don’t think so – pictures of the Scarecrow’s ankle never won anyone any Pulitzers.”

“Does _anyone_ want to run around after Cat with me today?” Kara asked the table desperately. “Anyone?”

“I’m going to her talk, actually,” Iris admitted. She picked up the brochure. “’ _How to Succeed in the Bastion of Straight, White Male Privilege_ ,” she read, raising her eyebrows. “She didn’t think that’d be a little long?”

“Trying to get Ms Grant to change her mind is fractionally harder than trying to stop the Red Tornado,” Kara replied.

“You know, I saw that on the news, you looked good.”

“Aw! Thank you!”

“Well, there’ll be one familiar face in the audience, at least. Plus, I want to see whether I can find out what happened between her and my boss.”

“Who’s your boss?”

“Mason Bridge.”

James gasped. “ _Your boss is Mason Bridge_?”

Kara almost choked on her juice. “Oh my God, you have to meet her – every time she hears that name a whole new vein pops in her head and she asks for churros and a milkshake. What happened in 1995?”

“That’s what I wanted to know!” Iris said excitedly, laughing. “Okay, well I’ll head over there right after Lois’ talk.”

“This is wonderful,” Clark smiled cheerfully. “And then when we get back we can organise this…team. I’m looking forward to working with the Green Arrow especially, he seems interesting.”

Iris thought of surly, grumpy and impatient Oliver next to optimistic, bright and cheery Clark. “Yeah! Oliver’s, um…Well, you’ll get used to him.”

“Alright, everyone, time to go,” Alfred declared. He took off his apron and pressed a button on the intercom, telling the car to come and get them. Then he pushed brown paper bags towards them. “Your lunches – tuna melt on rye with black pepper and Monterey Jack cheese for Miss West, club sandwiches for Mr Clark and Miss Danvers, chicken salad with red pepper hummus for Miss Lane, and roast beef for Mr Olsen.”

“Can I adopt you and make you my grandfather?” Kara begged, and Lois laughed.

“Oh no you don’t, Supergirl.” She put her arm around Alfred and kissed his cheek. “I’m marrying this one. Sorry, honey,” she said to Clark.

Clark rolled his eyes.

***

Barry Allen walked into the kitchen to find a robot eating cereal.

He was at least six feet tall and almost as wide in the shoulders, but that wasn’t what was remarkable about him. A good half of his body was covered in metal and he could feel the electricity crackling off him even as he stood there. One leg was normal, showing warm brown skin corded with muscle, but the other was completely metal. Alfred spotted him and grinned. “Mr Allen? I trust you had a good night?”

“Yeah, thanks Alfred,” he said.

“Mr Stone, have you met Mr Allen?”

The man eating Lucky Charms turned to him, a small smile on his face as he stood. He held out the hand that was made of metal. “Haven’t had the pleasure. Victor Stone.”

“Barry Allen,” Barry said faintly, shaking his hand. “Mr Stone – Victor, I…I’m sorry, but aren’t you supposed to be dead?”

“One victim of a STAR Labs incident to another,” he laughed, “aren’t you?”

Caitlin and Cisco had told him about the STAR Labs that was in Michigan, where Silas and Elinor Stone were killed in an accident that also took the life of their son. However, while their bodies had been found, the body of Victor, the local university’s star quarterback, hadn’t. Until now, he supposed. He winked, and the red orb on his forehead pulsed. “Cybernetics. You?”

“Lightning strike.”

“Eggs, bacon and pancakes,” Alfred said, pushing a tray towards Barry. He looked at a piece of paper. “Any idea where the others are? I’ve started their breakfast.”

“Laurel and Felicity are on their way, Oliver was on the phone to Diggle, God knows where Hal is, and I haven’t seen Arthur. And what about Bruce?”

“Mr Curry is having his breakfast downstairs, and Mr Wayne is preparing the day’s activities,” Alfred answered. Barry frowned.

“Activities? What is this, boot camp?”

“Bruce can be very thorough,” Victor answered. “When he found me it didn’t matter that I had robot tentacles instead of arms and I can read computers, he put me through all sorts of crazy tests before he’d let me work with him.”

“You work with Batman?”

“Bruce is a brilliant hacker, genius detective, and expert martial artist. But even he can’t control technology. He did give me some new equipment, though, once we stopped snapping at each other.”

“And now?”

He gave him a small smile. “Now Flash, meet Cyborg.”

“That is so cool!” Barry grinned, sitting down. “You have to meet my friend, Felicity Smoak, she’ll-”

“She’ll what?” Felicity herself walked in, Laurel and Oliver in tow, before taking one look at Victor and making a tiny squeaky noise. “Hi,” she said breathlessly, taking in his form. Barry cleared his throat. “Victor Stone, this is Felicity Smoak, Laurel Lance, and Oliver Queen. Guys, this is Cyborg.”

“Pleasure to meet you all,” he said good-naturedly. Then Barry tried not to laugh as Felicity simply stepped forward and started touching the robotic arm, a look of awe on her face. Victor laughed.

“I usually buy a girl dinner before all that happens.”

“I’m sorry, it’s just – this is incredible! Did you build this yourself?”

“Not exactly,” he admitted. Behind Felicity, Barry noticed, Oliver didn’t look impressed _at all_ , and Laurel was hiding her expression behind her hand. “It’s a long story, are you sure you’ve got time?”

“I’ve got time for you,” she said quickly. Then she blushed. “And by that I mean your equipment!” Her eyes widened. “And by that, I mean-”

“I know what you mean,” he said good-naturedly. He gestured to the kitchen counter loaded with food. “Would you like some breakfast?”

“I would love some,” Felicity smiled. Alfred, who’d been watching the entire thing with an amused smile on his face, gave Laurel and Oliver their breakfast. Laurel took one look at Oliver’s face and rolled her eyes. “You’re not allowed to be grumpy.”

“He’s always grumpy, Laur,” Barry pointed out between bites of pancake. She buttered her toast.

“Well, grumpier.”

“I’m not,” Oliver grumbled, trying and failing at not watching Victor and Felicity joke about motherboards. “I just don’t know a lot about him, and he’s talking to one of my team members.”

“Bull. You’re the one who went all ‘I can’t be with you because of my job crap’, so you’re not allowed to get mad when cute semi-robots want to talk about _equipment_.”

“She’s right,” Barry added, mouthful. Oliver rounds on him.

“What do you know about it?”

“Everything. And don’t ask me to tell you, either, Iris will kill me.”

“Have any of you seen Di?” Victor asked. Laurel nodded.

“She ran to Washington to check on something. At least, that’s what she told me this morning.”

“She _ran_ there?” Barry repeated.

“I know Diana’s not the fastest man alive, but she was blessed by Zeus,” Laurel pointed out. “That’s gotta hold some water.”

Barry had to admit that was true. Truth be told, he was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was here, sitting with two vigilantes and a half-robot ready to create a team that would be capable of standing any threat that would face them. He’d just run into Hank on the way back from making a phone call, the King of the Seven Seas had lent him hair gel, and his girlfriend was going to work with two aliens. And here he was, just eating breakfast like it was normal. Of course, as soon as he ruminated on all the things that were out of the ordinary, something so ridiculously ordinary (or at least ordinary since he made friends with the Green Lantern) happened.

“What – Hal!” Felicity squeaked, shutting her eyes.

“We should have left you in Star City,” Oliver muttered, and Laurel giggled.

“Hal,” Barry ground out. “Put a shirt and pants on. We’re not at home.”

“Au contraire,” Hal said. He didn’t seem to care that he was only in boxers that had little green lanterns on them. “Mr Pennyworth over here said I should make myself at home, and that’s exactly what I’m doing.”

“He’s right,” Alfred pointed out. “I did say that.”

“See? Well, actually,” he added, “if I was at home I’d walk around naked. Like I did when I stayed with Linda and Iris.”

“WHAT?” Barry shouted. Now it was Oliver’s turn to laugh and Laurel made Hal sit down.

“He’s kidding. Where have you been?”

“I was playing with Bruce’s stuff,” he answered, in between throwing several grapes into the air and catching them with his mouth. Alfred raised his eyebrows.

“I wouldn’t advise that, Mr Jordan. Mr Wayne is very protective of his things.”

“Indeed he is,” Bruce himself said from the doorway, making everyone jump. Hal pointed at him.

“First order of business? We are getting that man a fucking bell. That’s the second time he’s done that.”

“My apologies, Hal. Now, when you’re all done with breakfast, maybe we can get started?”

Soon they were following Bruce down a complicated set of corridors until they were eventually outside in a wide open space. It was, essentially, a football stadium, with an expanse of water in the distance and a range of equipment scattered around the racetrack, a boxing ring, and targets mounted on the walls. High above them, Alfred and Felicity were in a little box, where they would monitor vitals and give instructions. Barry could see that Diana was already there, stretching, and Hank was in his Martian Manhunter form.

“Okay, everyone,” Bruce called at the group. “Since we’re going to be working together, I thought it’d be a good idea for us all to get to know what we each can do.”

“Unfortunately, Clark and Kara are away, but since we already know what they can do we can make do without them,” Diana added. “We have seen the vast majority of your powers, whether on television or in the papers, but if we’re going to work together we need to see everything.”

“I’ve got weapons for the vigilantes, targets for the robotically or alien-technologically-inclined, and a racetrack for the speedster,” Bruce said. Then he frowned. “Wait. Where’s Arthur?”

Before they could answer, however, an enormous geyser of water shot into the air, spraying them all with droplets, and a figure somersaulted and landed in front of them, shaking the ground. Arthur stood, a trident clutched in his hand, which he then used to poke Bruce. “All here and ready for you, Batboy.”

“Batman.”

Arthur scoffed. “Whatever.”

***

“… _and in conclusion, try to maintain some degree of originality_ ,” Cat Grant said into the microphone. She flipped her hair behind her and tapped the podium. “ _I know all it’s hard to find something in this sea of spandex-clad men and ladies dressed as court-jesters carrying baseball bats, but I’m sure there is some kernel of independent thought among the ones crashing together in your millennial-tuned minds. Thank you._ ”

Iris glanced at Kara, who was sitting next to her. “Are supposed to-”

“Clap,” she nodded, smiling at her boss. “We’re supposed to clap. _Whoo_!” Kara pulled up Iris and both of them started clapping, spurring the audience into doing the same. Cat gave an approximation of a smile before slinking off the stage to the refreshment area, where she’d probably get coffee before going to her next workshop. Icy personality and need to belittle everyone aside, it was an amazing talk. There was something about the way Cat gave advice that was kind of like an overbearing journalistic mother – harsh, but fair, with masses of great advice. She was kind of unhappy that she didn’t have it recorded. As everyone started filing out their seats, Kara and James led her up to the stage.

“Ms Grant,” Kara began cheerily. “Wonderful speech.”

“I don’t know why I waste my time on these things,” she said in a bored voice. “Half of you spent the entire thing on your phones, and the other half ended up with the blank expressions you’re all wearing right now.”

Cat Grant was a petite woman, delicate bones and fine blonde hair with hazel eyes. She could also, apparently, cut you down with simply a look. Iris felt her heart stuttering in her chest when the woman zoned in on her, eyes narrowed.

“Well, I’m sure some of the people took in your wise words,” Kara continued. “Ms Grant, this-”

“Who is this?” Cat interrupted. “This one doesn’t work for me, does she?”

“N-No,” Iris said, when James gave her a meaningful look. “Um, I’m Iris. Iris West, Central City Picture News.”

“Ah, yes. The blogger with a death-wish. I’ve always wanted to ask, what possessed you to run after a psychopath that called herself the Ventriloquist?”

Iris blinked. “Um…Gumption?”

Cat’s eyes widened fractionally. “Who do you work under, Irina?”

“Actually, it’s – you know what, that’s not important,” she added when Kara cleared her throat. “I work under Mason Bridge, I think you know him? He’s mentioned you-”

“No,” she interrupted quickly, looking around, though Iris noticed that her cheeks went pink. “No, I don’t know him all that well. Keira, the coffee in here is atrocious – go outside and get me something that won’t make me gag.”

And she stalked off to prepare for her workshop. Iris bit her lip, deflated. “Well, that went terribly.”

“Are you kidding?” Kara said. “She loved you. And did you see what happened when you mentioned Mason? Something definitely went down between them for sure. James, could you go in there and save us some seats? If I’m sat right at the front she might not mind we’re going to see Lois’ talk afterwards.”

Iris and Kara headed outside, past all the bustle of journalists as they moved around. The conferences were being held partly at the Daily Planet and partly at New York University, which Iris vaguely remembered from when Linda used to go there. She and Kara picked up the coffees and then went back into the workshop, but not before she texted Barry to see how he was doing.

_How’s training going?_

Great! Victor launched a rocket at me

_WHAT_

No, it’s okay, he’s a robot

_Barry_

He’s Cyborg! You know, Victor Stone?

_Oh ok_

_Why was he launching a rocket at you_

They wanted to test my speed

_That was Hal’s idea wasn’t it_

Don’t worry, we launched it at him next

_How’s everyone else?_

Laurel and the Martian Manhunter get on really well, she’s telling him all about our laws

_Aw, cute_

Yeah

Um what else

Felicity has a technology crush on Bruce

_Because of course she does_

Arthur could probably kill us all by accident. When you get back tell him to show you what he can do with his trident

And no, that’s not an innuendo

_I was about to ask_

OH

Diana dislocated Oliver’s shoulder

_She did what? How?_

She threw him at a wall

_Omg why_

Do you need a reason to throw Oliver into a wall

_Fair point_

They were sparring and he said he couldn’t believe there was a fighting style he hadn’t heard of

_So she showed him Amazon-princess tae kwon do?_

Something like that. How’s everything there?

_I’m leaving you for Cat Grant_

Great. I’m leaving you for Alfred Pennyworth

_So long, Barry Allen_

Fare thee well, Iris West

I love you

_I love you too_

Iris smiled and pocketed her phone before sitting through the questions and answers. After she agreed with Kara that they had to find some way of getting Mason and Cat, they made their way to Lois’ talk. Clark was there and walked over to them as people started filing into their seats, smiling pleasantly. “Hi, everyone. Good day so far?”

“I’m still breathing,” Kara said, and James squeezed her hand. “Yeah, it’s been cool. Where’s Lo?”

“She’s fine. She loves these kinds of things. Oh, here she is.”

“This is a disaster!” Lois shrieked as she walked over to them. Clark frowned.

“Okay, maybe not. What’s up?”

“My guest speaker cancelled.”

“Your guest speaker?” Iris repeated. “I didn’t know you were having one.”

“Well, I did,” Lois sighed. “Vicki Vale, Gotham Gazette? She flaked on me.”

Iris made a face. “Oh, I remember her. Yeah, she’s kind of a flake.”

“I wish I knew that before I agreed to have her talk, because now I don’t have anyone to join me.”

James looked around at the people already sitting down. “You think you can cancel? Or get someone else?”

“Vicki was going to be talking about how different it is working in Gotham to working in Metropolis. It’s supposed to be about finding a reason to write even when your environment changes and you’re out of your comfort zone. Do you know anyone who used to work in Gotham?”

“Well,” Clark said after a second, “there’s Iris.”

“Yeah, no,” Iris told him. “Me? Not so good with the speeches.”

“You’re a journalist, you’d be great!”

“I work in _print_ journalism, not broadcast!”

“I seem to remember a certain blog post where you said you think you’d look good on TV,” Kara pointed out. “Um. I read your blog last night, it’s really good!”

Iris groaned at Lois’ hopeful face. “I don’t have anything prepared!”

“Iris, half of journalism is winging it. Please?”

She sighed. “Fine. But you’re buying me dinner. Um, what do I…”

Lois grabbed her hand. “Just come with me and I’ll run you through it. Everyone else go to your seats.”

This was what happened when you worshipped the ground someone worked on and they had eyes as pretty and convincing and Lois Lane’s. God, no wonder the woman had one two goddamn Pulitzers. She doubted anyone would be able to say no to her. Lois told her that she’d be fine, just think of an anecdote and then explain how her life changed when she moved, nothing too fancy, and then she sat on the end of the reserved row with Kara. She was so rapt, listening to Lois describe what it was like to discover a whole new world of reporting when Superman came to the world that she almost didn’t know who they were talking about when Lois introduced her.

“ _And now, someone I think you’ll all be excited to hear from_ ,” Lois announced to the room, “ _Iris West from Central City Picture News_!”

Iris stood on shaking legs and walked up to the stage, surprised that there was so much applause. Lois hugged her on the way to the podium, and she took a deep breath as the cheers died down. “Um, good afternoon, everyone. I’m Iris West, and I am here to talk to you about what happens when your life goes from evil tabby cats and corrupt police in Gotham to sports teams doping and metahumans running around Central City.”

Everyone laughed and Iris relaxed a little. “Some of you might recognise me from the Gazette, since that’s where I got my start, and I have to tell you guys, on days where I get kidnapped by men made of steel – that _aren’t_ Superman – it’s a little scary.”

She settled into it and continued, regaling everyone with the story of how and why she found the story and then contrasting it with how she busted a story about corruption within the police department, along with a few friends. “And then you come to Central City and you’ve got nuns running drug rings and men who can run faster than the speed of sound,” she shrugged. “I’ve only been doing this for five years – in many ways, I’m still a rookie and I still have a lot to learn. But what I can say when you’re in a new place, a new environment, and have to adapt to news stories that are a little out there is that…you need to walk around. Discover the city, find its pulse. That way you’ll find the reason to write because you’ll know exactly what makes the city tick. It can be an event or a place, or in my case, the most… _wonderful_ person I’ve ever met. And if you happen to live in a place where aliens fly around in tights…bring knuckledusters.”

Iris let out a deep breath and everyone started clapping; when she looked in the audience, Kara was clapping and giving her an encouraging smile, and Clark was giving her the thumbs-up sign. Lois walked back up to the podium and squeezed her hand, before leading her back down. “You did so good! You should do that more often, you know.”

“R-Right,” she said breathlessly. “Lois?”

“Mm?”

“Vicki Vale was never your guest speaker, was she?”

Lois gave her a small smile. “What gave it away?”

“It might be better for you to trick me into giving a speech if she weren’t sitting in the audience waving at me.”

She sighed. “Perry White did that to me a few years ago. His boss did it to him, too. Separates the wheat from the chaff, and you knocked it out of the park.”

Iris looked at her. “Forget dinner, you’re getting me whiskey.”

“Gladly.”

Clark and the others were grinning when they made it back down to the audience. “iris, that was awesome!” Kara said. “Did the Scarecrow really walk around in feathers?”

“Yeah, people never believe me about that, but it’s true.”

“How does Bruce live in that place?” Clark wondered. Lois shrugged.

“It’s _Bruce_. He’s home amongst all that doom and gloom.” Then she frowned at James, who was staring at his phone. “You okay, Olsen?”

“Iris,” he said quietly. “Where’s Barry?”

“I believe he and Hal were about to have a race and Victor was going to shoot rockets at them,” she remembered. “Why?”

He showed her his phone. “Then why is he in Central City?”

***

Barry pulled off his mask and high-fived Hal, before turning to look at Victor as they reached the end of the track. From the crowd, Diana and Oliver were clapping good-naturedly. Victor landed next to them and turned off his propellers. “Okay,” he admitted. “You’re fast.”

“Yeah, but _barely_ fast enough to avoid those things! You have to let me study those, your tensile strength must be incredible!”

“Yeah, do you think Bruce will give me some?”

Barry and Victor gave Hal a look. During the course of the training mission, Hal had crashed three of Bruce’s cars, broken four grenade launchers, an destroyed half a dozen communication devices…despite the fact that the Green Lantern needed none of those things. “Yeah, I wouldn’t hold out too much hope, buddy,” Victor laughed. “Where is he, anyway?”

Hal removed his mask and turned off his ring. “Towelling off, I think. Arthur handled pretty well, huh?”

“That trident is something else, I didn’t know he could control water with it. And does he have a whole army down there?”

“Hey!” Hal said. “I have an army too, you know.”

“Your army is in space. And weren’t you fired?”

“Semantics.”

They walked back indoors, where they met the others in the corridor. Felicity was frowning at them, however. She walked right up to Barry and poked him in the shoulder. “Ow! What was that for.”

“I was…checking you were real,” she answered. He stared at her.

“Because you had doubts before?”

“No, Barry. I’m wondering how you can be training down there for hours when everyone just said they saw the Flash save a hundred people from a boat explosion.”

Barry took the iPad from her, eyes wide. She was right – there was a red blur flitting all over a large cruise ship in the middle of the bay. _Wally_. Hal punched his other shoulder. “Quit hitting me, jackass!”

“How are you doing that?”

“I’m not, it’s…complicated.”

“Is this like the time Clark turned into Bizarro?” Diana wanted to know. “Because that was quite an unpleasant time.”

Barry handed her back the iPad. “It’s not a big deal, I’m handling it. I just need to make a call.”

He raced away before they could say anything, back to his room, and was dialling Wally’s number inside a minute. It rang three times, and then someone picked it up. “Hello?”

“Linda?”

“Oh, hey CSI the Dork. What’s up?”

“I was just checking on Wally, is he okay? Is he hurt?”

Linda laughed. “He’s fine. Did the whole superhero thing and then passed out in my apartment. Cisco came over and checked him out, said he was fine, and now we’re just waiting for the hundred dollar’s worth of takeout that I ordered.”

Barry made a face. “Yeah, that’s kind of a side-effect. Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she said in surprise. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“It’s not easy, Linda. Watching someone you love run into danger all the time. It’s okay to be a little freaked.”

She didn’t say anything for a second. “Well, he’s back right?”

“We always come back,” he said firmly. “How are you feeling about your award?”

“Nervous as hell.”

“Well don’t worry, we’re getting everyone here to watch it. I think Iris is making them tweet about it as well.”

“Thanks, Barry.”

Barry wished her goodbye before going back down to the main hall, where he saw Bruce watching the footage of Wally running to and from the boat even as the fire raged on. He looked a lot less wet than when Arthur had doused him in water while showing off his skills. He regarded Barry as he came to stand next to him. “I take it you know about this?”

“Yeah. He’s a…friend.”

“And you didn’t want to bring him along as well?”

“He’s not ready yet,” Barry admitted. He stared up at the screen, a small, proud smile tugging at his lips. “But he will be.”

Bruce looked at him, something like admiration in his features. Then they both looked around at an insistent meowing sound. He bent to pick up a white and grey tabby cat. “My girlfriend’s,” he admitted, petting it. “Selina has a fondness for cats. Clark and the others are on their way up, by the way.”

“What’s next on the agenda?”

“Well, now that we know what we can each do, I suggested that we meet and come up with a concrete plan of attack using each of our powers.”

Barry frowned at that word. “’Concrete’? Don’t you think it would be better to assess the situation first?”

“There are too many of us for everyone to get an accurate enough assessment,” Bruce pointed out. “If we always follow the same procedure, we’ll know how to handle ourselves.”

Barry was about to disagree with that, but then the lift doors opened and Kara, Iris, Lois, Clark and James filed out of it. Kara and Clark waved before heading to the kitchen – no doubt their alien metabolisms demanded food after such a long day – but James, Lois and Iris came over to join them. She leapt into his arms, her face alight. “Barry, did you see him? Did you see…um, the other Flash?”

“Kid Flash,” he informed the group. He kissed Iris on the forehead. “Yeah, I saw him.”

Iris rounded on the other two. “See, I told you! Barry doesn’t have a Bizarro, whatever that is.”

Barry stared at everyone. “I really need to find out what that is.”

“No,” Lois and James said together, “you don’t.”

Iris, meanwhile, had spotted the cat that Bruce and Lois were petting. “Um,” she said hesitantly, gripping Barry’s arm unnaturally hard. “Where’d you get this little guy?”

“It’s Selina’s,” Lois answered. “Here, you want to pet him?”

“No, I-” And apparently the cat didn’t agree with Lois either, because it started hissing as soon as Lois brought the cat to her

“Tabitha!” a female voice called. “Who’s hurting my baby?”

A tall, slim woman dressed entirely in black sauntered down the steps, a black bag slung over her shoulder, and the cat leapt out of Lois’ arms. “Selina,” Bruce said evenly, smiling. “You’re back.”

“Well, Lex Luthor can’t get away with stealing everything. Now, what’s wrong with Tabitha?”

James the one who answered. “It attacked Iris.”

Selina regarded Iris, eyes narrowed, before shrugging. “Well, maybe it remembers her from when she used to live in Gotham.”

Iris let out a shriek. “You’re Catwoman! That cat almost killed me!”

“Yes, well, perhaps you shouldn’t have been poking around in other people’s business!”

“You robbed a charity event at my alma mater.”

“But she’s reformed now, right?” Lois added. Selina laughed.

“Yes, I suppose so. We’ve adopted teenagers and we’re doing the whole nuclear family thing. Speaking of, how are they?”

“Diana says they’re fine,” Bruce answered.

“I still don’t know why you didn’t let me check on them.”

“Because you wanted to give Cassandra throwing stars and Tim a crossbow. Diana is in charge of Washington; she doesn’t need them running around with weapons.”

“They are in a strange city, I wanted them to be able to defend themselves!”

“They’re on a field trip – they don’t need to be defended from the Washington Memorial!”

“You have your worries,” she sniffed, “and I have mine.”

Barry put a hand over his mouth, trying to decide which was funnier – Bruce and Selina trying to arm their kids, or Iris eyeing Tabitha warily. That was when Alfred walked in, a dinner apron draped over him. “Dinner will be ready in a few minutes, everyone. Ah, Miss Kyle, it’s nice to see you again. I trust you had a pleasant excursion?”

“I did, dear. Look, I brought you some cufflinks. Now, none of you look at me like that. Knowing Lex Luthor, he probably stole them first.”

***

When Iris had woken him up that and told him that Superman wanted to start a team of heroes with him, he had been expecting that they’d come together, hang out, and sign some agreements or something. What he didn’t expect was that He, Oliver, Clark and Bruce would get into an argument about how to approach threats, Laurel and Diana would have to explain repeatedly to Arthur why they couldn’t just cross state lines whenever they wanted, and Hal to be so liberal with Kara and Victor’s alien technology. By the time Steve showed up after his flight training, half of them were yelling at each other. Finally, Lois very helpfully suggested that they go to bed and try again when they everyone was less angry.

“Well,” Barry sighed, sitting heavily in the armchair in their room. “That could have gone better.”

“A little,” Iris admitted. “Are you okay?”

“I guess. I just don’t get how Oliver and Bruce can be so…so…”

“Rigid?” Iris suggested.

“Exactly! Bruce wants to go into everything the exact same way, like we’re going to face the same kinds of threats. Oliver doesn’t like improvising, as if that isn’t the only way to adapt to a changing environment. And Clark-”

“Wait, I thought you agreed with him.”

“I do,” Barry said. “But I think he doesn’t remember that not everyone is like him. Or Kara. And Arthur is about done with everything.”

“Didn’t he have something he was worried about?”

“Yeah, apparently something’s killing the animals in the ocean. But I don’t think he wants to work in a team anymore.”

Iris was quiet for a moment, before putting her laptop down and crawling into Barry’s lap. He tucked his head underneath her chin. “It’s just the first day,” she pointed out. “Maybe you guys needed to have an argument first. Like, get it all out of your system, and now _everyone_ knows that you’re not supposed to leave anything expensive and cool-looking around Hal.”

Barry smiled into her chest. “You can make anything a positive, can’t you?”

“It’s one of my superpowers.”

“Like the hugging?”

“Like the hugging.”

He kissed her shoulder. “Kara showed me your speech.”

She groaned. “Ugh, that was terrible. I think I rambled for half of it.”

“It was perfect. And I appreciated the shout-out.”

“Mm. Maybe I won’t leave you for Lois Lane.”

“Good, because I wasn’t feeling the lobster that Alfred served tonight.”

Iris scoffed. “Barry, that lobster was beautiful.”

“I know, he admitted. He smiled up at her. “But you’re still my favourite.”

There was a knock on the door and Barry called for them to come in. “Mr Allen, Miss West,” Alfred greeted them. “I trust your wakeup call and breakfast arrangements are the same?”

“Yeah. Oh!” Iris remembered. “I only have one workshop tomorrow, how do I get back to…wherever this place is?”

“Ah. Simply take this card…” he handed her a small business card. “Walk into any Wayne-branded building and say that you need French windows. Someone will be down to take you.”

Barry studied the card. “Wayne Housekeeping?”

“Mr Wayne’s sense of humour is an acquired taste.”

The next day, Iris was scrolling through her emails when she found another message about Parademons. She texted Felicity quickly, who no doubt would be able to help her even though most people were sleeping.

_Any idea where this is?_

**Give me a minute**

**Oliver keeps texting me**

**What’s his problem**

_He’s jealous_

**Of what**

_Felicity u spent the whole day salivating after Victor and his ‘equipment’_

**No I didn’t!**

_Hey I don’t blame u. You’re not with ray anymore_

**But he’s the one who said he couldn’t date me**

_I am not going to pretend to understand oliver queen for u_

**Whatever**

**According to my equipment, this picture was taken in downtown Metropolis at an old Luthor Med building**

_Abandoned?_

**Looks like it. You thinking of going over there?**

_Might as well, I probably won’t be in Metropolis any time soon after this._

**Keep me posted babydoll**

Cat had the day off, so Kara was staying in with James to do some sparring, and the only other person going in for the day was Lois. She and Iris were hanging out, taking notes on a seminar that Mason was giving on how to make the transition from print to broadcast journalism, and the difficulties that came alone with it. “Thinking of making the leap?” Lois asked. Iris shrugged.

“I don’t know, maybe. My friend Linda did it last year, but she was in sports – she was already basically a pro. Besides, I’m not so sure I’d be that good under pressure, given the kind of stuff I report on.”

“It would be kind of hard to be brave in front of a camera while being held up by the Calendar Man,” Lois admitted. “Headed home?”

“Actually I have a lead to check out, so I’ll see you at home.”

“You really think you’re going to say ‘lead’ to me and then expect me to go back home?” Lois grinned at her. “What are we looking for?”

Iris pulled the picture out of her bag. “People keep asking me whether the Parademons are coming back. But I thought-”

“Clark got rid of them all,” Lois frowned. Parademons, whatever they were, seemed to be a cross between humans, robots and bats, with bodies like men but glowing red eyes and leathery wings. This one was half in shadow, head turned over one shoulder. “The person who took this said that they ran before it could catch them.”

“Really? They’re pretty fast. Still, it’d be good to make sure there aren’t any more of those. If there’s any trouble, we can call the others. You got any equipment?”

“You think you’re dealing with an amateur?” Iris opened up her bag to reveal two pairs of knuckledusters, mace, a Taser, and several power bars. “Let’s go.”

So Iris and Lois made their way downtown, chatting happily, not really expecting anything major to come out of this, and not knowing they were walking into an ambush.

“Ew,” Iris wrinkled her nose as they shoved the door open. It was old and musty, and even though there were desks everywhere to make it look like a real office, it looked like no one had been here in years.

“LuthorCorp pulled back on the medical business a few years ago,” Lois told her as they picked around the place. “But I guess they never got round to selling the building.”

“Should we try upstairs?”

They kept going, making it up to near the top of the building before they decided to give up. “Okay, we’ve seen the labs, the offices, and the IT suits,” Lois said. “I think we can safely say this place is free of otherworldly threats.”

“Are you sure? I was getting a lot of reports about them.”

“Yeah, but this is Metropolis – it could be something as simple as some obsessed loon dressing up as a Parademon. Do you have any idea how many kids there were dressed as Doomsday a couple of years ago?”

Iris sighed, looking around. Lois was right – sometimes leads led nowhere. She knew that, she’d been in this business for a while, after all. But still, she had wanted to see whether she could put this to bed and stop everyone worrying. She put her torch down. “Okay, I guess you’re right. Should we – _ahhhhhh_!”

Iris screamed as a black figure leapt out from underneath some boxes and threw her against a wall, winding her. _Parademon_. It’s eyes were glowing malicious and it snarled as it advanced on her – and then Lois was there, beating it in the back with a pole. It turned on her instead, wrenching the pole out of her grip. Iris gritted her teeth and stood. “Hey!” When the Parademon turned to her, she punched it in the face with her knuckledusters, and then Lois followed up with the pole, neither stopping until it was on the floor. Lois dropped the pole and grabbed Iris’ arm, breathing hard. “You okay?”

“I – I think so,” she swallowed painfully. The Parademon was shifting on the floor, black blood leaking out of its wounds as it moaned. Iris frowned. “Dark sigh? Dark – what is it saying?”

Lois had gone pale. “Darkseid.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that we have to call Clark. _Right now_.”

***

“I’m just saying, I am the fastest man alive,” Barry pointed out. Clark and Kara scoffed at him.

“You really think you’d beat us in a race?” Clark said, his eyebrows raised. “Kara, maybe, but…”

“Hey!” Kara said. “Don’t forget I’m about ten years younger than you, old man.”

“That’s the Phantom Zones fault.”

“Guys,” Barry shrugged. “I’m the Flash. I run up buildings. I run on water. I broke the sound barrier.”

Kara and Clark stared at him. “Who hasn’t?”

“If you want to beat him,” Oliver called from where he was sparring with Victor, “just hit him with a couple of arrows.”

“Asshole,” Barry muttered. Laurel laughed. “You’re just jealous because – wait, what’s that?”

An ear-splitting, insistent klaxon was sounding, so violently loud it was making Barry’s bones shake. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know,” Clark frowned. That was when Alfred ran in, followed by Felicity. “Guys, what happened?”

“Parademons,” Felicity said quickly. She and Alfred ran to the terminals; while he typed, she talked. “Iris and Lois were downtown checking out a tip they got, and they found one. And then within minutes, there were all over the city.”

The computer buzzed and then they saw the city as if being recorded from an iPad, and Iris’ voice. “ _…don’t know where they’re coming from, exactly, but they’re emerging from sewers, abandoned buildings, and anywhere else you’d expect. This message is to the Metropolis City Police Department, please evacuate any and all non-essential personnel from…_ ”

The whole city was overrun with Parademons, swarming over the streets like ants, and people were running away from them as quickly as possible. Barry stared, his throat dry, as everyone else filed into the room because of the klaxon. “Where is she?” he breathed. “Where’s Iris?”

Alfred narrowed his eyes at the screen. “She is on a roof in downtown Metropolis, according to this.”

“Lois said she wanted to stay and warn everyone while she went to warn all the news stations, police departments and hospitals.”

Barry closed his eyes, his hands shaking. Of course. Of course Iris wanted to stay and help, thinking that her big heart and immense bravery would be enough to compensate for her fragile body. Someone touched his arm. “It’s okay, Barry,” Kara said softly. “We’ll find her.”

“Yeah,” he rasped. “Yeah, um – where are they?”

“Everywhere,” Alfred said, shaking his head gravely. “They’re on land, they’re in the sky – they’re even in the sea. Mr Kent-”

“Darkseid,” he said quickly. “This is him – god, I knew those reports weren’t false alarms.”

“Who’s Darkseid?”

“Evil overlord from our home planet who wants to kill the last children of Krypton,” Kara explained. “Long story short.”

“ _SHIT_!” Iris screamed. Everyone gasped when they saw a large spaceship hanging out of the sky. “ _I…um…There appears to be a large – it’s a fucking spaceship and there are Parademons coming out of it_!”

“Get her on the phone,” Barry ordered, and Felicity nodded.

The camera was set down, focusing on the spaceship as more and more Parademons flew out of it, and someone stepped away from it. “Hello?”

“Iris?”

“Y-Yeah?”

“Are you okay?”

Iris hesitated. “Fine. Um. Fine, just a little freaked.”

Barry was probably the only one who knew that she sounded terrified. “It’s okay, Iris, we’re coming to get you. Are you hurt?”

“No, not really.”

“Get Bruce,” Clark muttered to Kara, and she nodded before racing off. “Iris, I need you to describe to me exactly where you are and what’s happening, okay? Can you do that?”

“Yeah, um…There’s the spaceship, and the Parademons are just running all over the place. I can see some by the bay, near the bridge, and some are flying around, but most of them are in the street. None of them can see me, though – I think they’re looking for something.”

“They’re looking for us. Iris, you’re doing really well, but we need you to stay there and keep telling us what you see, okay sweetheart?”

“O-Okay. Um, you guys aren’t going to leave me up here, are you?” she laughed shakily. “It’s a nice view, but not exactly ideal.”

“We won’t,” Barry promised. “We’re coming right now. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Iris hung up just as Bruce, Arthur, Hank, Diana and Steve walked in. Arthur swore at the screen. “That’s them,” he growled. “Those are the things that have been killing my people.”

“That’s good!” Barry said, pointing at him. Arthur frowned.

“What?”

“No, I mean,” he sighed, trying to get his thoughts straight. Truthfully, he was channelling Dr Wells. “Land, sea, sky, right? Clark, Kara and Hank can take care of the ones in the sky, and then go after Darkseid because they’re aliens. Arthur can take Diana and Hal as backup to help him there, and I can evacuate people because I’m fast. That way everyone else can contain the threat.”

“No,” Bruce said. “Good plan, but we should focus it. Is there any way for us to cut them off and force them into one place?”

“I can generate a force field so we can fight them all in one place,” Hal suggested. “I’ll switch with Victor.”

“Those rockets will come in handy,” Arthur admitted.

“Barry, listen to me for evacuation instructions,” Laurel added. She shared a look with Oliver. “This is like when Deathstroke attacked, and the earthquake machine before that.”

“What about Iris?”

“Steve will collect her,” Diana said, “he’s taking his helicopter to help anyway.”

“I’m going to take anyone who’s seriously injured,” he added. “I’ll need your eyes as well, James.”

“Miss Smoak and I will direct you all from here,” Alfred added. Bruce nodded. “Everyone suit up and be ready to leave in five minutes.”

***

This was the last time she decided to listen to her gut, Iris decided.

From now on, she was reporting on community news. Or senior interest. Or anything that would have her somewhere safe, not on a roof recording an alien invasion with her iPad and hoping that these Parademons didn’t decide that they wanted a five foot four journalist for lunch. Everyone was tweeting and calling her like crazy, but apart from a message to Linda to let her know she was okay and tell her dad the same, she wasn’t answering them. She needed to keep the line clear for-

“Felicity?”

“Hey, babydoll. You okay?”

“Been better. What’s going on?”

“Everyone’s on their way there – I’m linking up the lines so you can talk to them, too.”

“Miss West,” Alfred said. “Mr Wayne would like to know whether the Parademons have advanced past you.”

“No,” she replied, “but there are a lot of them.”

“Good, the others should-”

“ _Game time, bitches_!”

“HAL!”

“That’s them,” Alfred said.

“Laurel, Oliver, Diana and Hal, you guys are with me,” Bruce said. “When Barry’s got everyone out, Hal, you force everyone into one place so we can take care of them. Diana?”

“We’re with Arthur,” she answered. “Victor and I have it covered, don’t worry. I’ve fought things from other worlds before.”

“Has anyone found Darkseid yet?” Iris asked. “And where’s Lois?”

“No, but Miss Lane is currently informing me of the best hospitals to send casualties. She’s fine.”

“James and I are on our way to find you now, Iris,” Steve assured her. “Just trying to take care of some casualties first. Hang in there, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Like Hal said,” Clark said grimly. “Game time.”

***

There were too many of them.

That was the first thing Barry noticed when he saw Darkseid’ minions running all over the city. Clark had explained who they were – genetically modified aliens geared to find Superman and Supergirl – but his mind was on evacuating everyone and finding Iris. The closer they got to the city, the more they could hear the screeching Parademons and people screaming as they tried to run. “Laurel? Where do I take everyone?”

She gave him the coordinates. “If there’s anyone seriously injured, tell Steve and he’ll try to pick them up.”

“You got this, Barry?” Oliver asked.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’ve got it.”

***

Iris got used to the idea of being the city’s only link to what was going on, and the minute she saw the familiar red streak her heartbeat slowed. Barry had gotten everyone out. The other news stations didn’t want to send any news helicopters to cover anything in case they ran into the Parademons, and it was officially too dangerous for anyone to be on the ground. But Iris was fine. _Fine_. It was actually a pretty nice day and Caitlin was texting messages of encouragement, and…okay, Iris was terrified. And the messages from Caitlin were more like ‘what to do if you get stabbed by an alien’.” But it was fairly entertaining listening to everyone. At least it drowned out the sounds of the screaming – plus, it was kind of amazing seeing the Black Canary, Green Arrow and Batman killing things.

“Wow, you weren’t kidding about that Trident, Aquaman,” Victor muttered, grunting in exertion. “You okay, Di?”

“Please. You humans think this is hard? Remind me to take you to my home planet, I’ll show you dangerous.”

“Do not,” Steve interjected, “let her take you to her home planet. You will stop ageing and come back to earth confused.”

There were three loud crashed and viciously loud screeching. “Found him!” Clark told everyone.

“Awesome,” Iris breathed. She picked up her iPad from where it had been recording everything going on downtown. “I’ve just gotten reports from Supergirl that the source of the threat has been located.” She set the iPad down. “It would be great if we got pictures of this, you know.”

“Taken care of,” James laughed.

“Of course,” Hank said, even as it sounded like he was ripping Parademons apart. “James never could let go of that thing.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be rescuing me?”

“We’ll be there in five, Iris. It seems people aren’t too badly injured.”

Iris nodded and kept looking, then frowned when she heard several loud thuds below her. She inched towards the edge of the building and peeked…and then her heart leapt out of her throat.

They’d found her.

***

Barry had to hand it to Supergirl, Superman, and the Martian Manhunter – it seemed they were giving Darkseid hell, from the sounds of things. Meanwhile, Laurel, Oliver and Bruce were making short work of the ones on the ground by the time he got back.

“Um,” Iris said. Barry frowned.

“Iris?”

“Um. So. The P-Parademons kind of…found me…”

“What?” Barry demanded. “Where’s Steve?”

“We got held up,” he replied grimly. Bruce turned and looked into the distance. “They’re being ambushed by them,” he realised. “They must have realised Iris was up there broadcasting.”

“What – she’s up there by herself!”

“Is there anyone else who can help? Clark?”

“Busy!”

“Kara?”

“ _Bu…sy_!” she panted.

“Hank, Victor, Hal?”

All of them replied in the negative and Barry took breath. “Okay, Iris? I’m going to need you to jump.”

“Jump?” she repeated, and then everyone started screaming at him.

“Are you insane?” Diana wanted to know.

“Barry, you’re going to kill her!” Victor shouted.

“HAVE. YOU. LOST. YOUR. MIND.” Felicity snapped.

“Iris!” he said, cutting them all off. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes,” she replied unflinchingly. “I trust you.”

“Good. _Then jump_.”

And he raced off, shoving Parademons out of the way as he went.

***

Iris could hear them coming, smashing their way up the stairs, and she put all of her stuff in her bag before taking several deep breaths. “I can do this,” she breathed. “I can do this…”

She took a running leap off the bridge and then she was airborne, the wind kissing her face, and the scream was pulled out of her as she hurtled towards the ground at top speed, her heart streaming behind her. And then – and then she felt a rush of air in the other direction, and she was in Barry’s arms. They were on the ground inside two seconds, Barry steadying her. “You good?”

“You took your time,” she panted. He grinned at her through the mask.

“Waiting for the pretty one. Come on.”

He picked her up and raced her across town, and soon she found herself on a different roof, where Steve and James were waiting. “Iris, I am so sorry,” Steve apologised. “We got held up-”

“It’s cool,” she said shakily. “I’m fine now, right?”

“I can’t believe you told her to jump,” Felicity muttered over the comms. “Joe’s going to murder us all.”

“Let me handle that,” Barry said. “Where are we?”

“Most of them are retreating to where Clark and the others are,” James explained. “Laurel, Bruce and Oliver already left.”

“Okay, I’ll go there right now.” He made to leave, but Iris pulled him back down for a kiss. “Do. Not. Die.”

“Don’t plan on it.”

Barry raced off and James helped Iris into the helicopter, before Steve took off. James handed her some water. “Guess you weren’t expecting that. You okay?”

“I will be. Where are we going?”

“There are a couple of people trapped in places, we might have to-”

All of them froze when they heard an earth-shattering _boom_ , and then when Iris looked down all of the Parademons… “They’ve stopped,” James breathed. “You guys, they’re not moving.”

“We got them,” Kara declared. “He controls them all – when he dies, they die.”

“Good job, everyone,” Bruce said as everyone cheered. “Everyone make their way back to base.”

But then Kara made a strangled noise. “Clark? _Clark_!”

***

By the time they made it back home, Clark had stopped screaming.

Felicity and Alfred met them as Hal and Bruce brought Clark in on a stretcher, his uniform in tatters. There was a large pole sticking out of his shoulder, strange green rocks glowing around the wound that oozed ruby red blood. “What happened?”

“Kryptonite,” Bruce said quickly, taking off his outfit. “Alfred, get a medical room ready.” Kara had her hands over her mouth but didn’t go near him, because as James explained when they were all flying back in the Batmobile as quickly as possible, Kryptonite was the only way to kill people from their planet. Iris pressed into Barry’s side as they watched Clark shivering on

“Where’s Lois?” Laurel asked.

“Steve’s getting her,” James said. Bruce nodded.

“Diana, Hank, I need you guys to hold him down while I pull this out. Barry, you’re the only one fast enough to get all the Kryptonite particles out before he starts healing.”

They looked at each other and nodded. “Okay, everyone follow Alfred.”

Everyone else, meanwhile, filed to the table, where someone had laid medical supplies out. Iris felt someone tugging on her arm. “Felicity,” she sighed. “Hey.”

“Don’t ‘hey’ me,” she said. She put her in a chair and opened up a first aid kit. “You jumped off a skyscraper. You don’t get to be casual.”

“Not like I had much of a choice.” Iris winced when Felicity dabbed her with some antiseptic.

“You okay?”

Iris shrugged. “He’s…Superman.”

“I know.”

“He’s Superman, and he’s hurt.”

“Guess being Super doesn’t save you.” She paused. “Where’s Oliver?”

“He and Hal stayed to help with the clean-up – Steve will get them on his way back.”

Felicity nodded but Iris noticed that her hands were shaking a little. Laurel came over and took the bandage from her, wrapping it around Iris’ arm. “Felicity, go to your computer and put out an alert that people should be wary of deep cuts and infection from their skin,” she said. “Iris, use your blog and tell everyone that everything is fine, but they should avoid the areas affected by the Parademons until the police say it’s safe. Can you both do that?”

Both of them nodded, and Laurel went off to talk to Kara. “Take one cape off, put another one on.”

Iris closed her eyes. This morning she’d been worried about whether to decide between being on TV or being a writer, and now Barry was helping Wonder Woman and the Martian Manhunter stop Superman from dying. She did what Laurel asked and then fielded some calls from people – especially Mason, her dad, and Caitlin, who got really worried when her blog stopped showing her – before looking up from her computer when she heard someone shout Clark’s name. “Lois,” James said. About five seconds after that, Alfred came through the doors. “He’s fine,” he said, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. “Miss Danvers, if you want to come through? He’s asking for you.”

Kara was through the doors without a second thought, and as Iris watched the rest of them came through as well. Then she was pressed up against Barry’s chest as he raced through the door and hugged her. “Hi,” he said into her hair. “I…I just…Hi.”

“HI,” she said into his chest. “Me too.”

She curled her fingers into his suit as Alfred started speaking. “I see that everyone has had a very trying today, so I shall endeavour to make it easy for you all.”

“You gonna break out the steak for us, Alfred?” Oliver said tightly, lowering himself into a chair.

“Actually,” he said, “I thought takeout would be best. Chinese or pizza?”

***

Barry found Iris in the kitchen a few hours later, eating brownies. “How do you manage to find brownies in whatever city you’re in?”

“You should know that, it’s one of my many superpowers,” she answered. He came to sit next to her and grabbed one. “Hey!”

“I saved your life today!”

Iris glared at him. After Alfred had got about five dozen orders of Chinese for everyone, most people had retired to their rooms to take naps and call people. Except now it was nine-thirty at night and Iris’ internal clock was out of whack because she took a four-hour nap in the middle of the day. Somewhere in the Secret Sanctuary, most other people were either relaxing in their rooms or still asleep. “You get to use that, like, four more times until it gets old.”

Barry grinned at her and took another brownie. “Did you get to see Clark?”

“Yeah. Those Kryptonian healing powers are something else, huh?”

“He’s such a show-off. He was practically doing push-ups when I was in there – I think he was just showing off for Lois.”

“Where did Bruce learn to do stitches like that?”

Barry shrugged. “Same place he learned how to operate on aliens, apparently.”

“Mm,” Iris said. She laid her head on the table, watching the moonlight on the chrome tables and Barry as he ate. Something hot pooled in her stomach. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Pretty glad about that myself.”

She watched him chew and swallow, his Adams apple bobbing, and let out a deep breath. “Barry.”

He didn’t look up, still eating. “Yeah?”

Iris slid off the breakfast bar stool, took the brownie from him, and dragged him to her to kiss him. She parted his mouth with hers, and he moaned when their tongues tangled together. Iris took it a step further, climbing into his lap and wrapping her legs around his waist. Barry’s hands were everywhere, tangled in her hair, up and down her back, and on her waist. “Iris,” he moaned as she nipped at his neck. “Iris – Iris, wait. Are you sure? Now?”

“Barry, I am really, _really_ glad you’re okay,” she said quietly, giving him a meaningful look. “You really want to ask me if I’m sure?”

He stared at her for exactly half a second before his mouth was on hers again in another bruising kiss. Iris tugged on his bottom lip with her teeth and then gasped when he used his speed to press her back against the wall. “Barry _Allen_ ,” she breathed. “Are you trying to give me a hickey?”

“I’m trying to give you several,” he laughed softly. She ran her hands down his chest and fumbled for his zipper, showing down his trousers as he slipped his fingers up her skirt. He used one hand to steady her waist. “Quit moving.”

Iris pulled him up to her to kiss him again, moaning into his mouth as he started that vibrating motion against her. “ _God_ …am I ever going to get used to that?”

“I hope not, it’ll make me a lot less impressive.” He whipped out a condom and her eyes widened.

“Wow, really?”

“Yeah, I’ve kind of taken to carrying them around because my girlfriend likes to fuck me in inappropriate places. _Like Bruce Wayne’s kitchen_.”

Iris grinned into his mouth as she felt him hot and hard pressing up against her, and she grasped his shoulders to manoeuvre herself into position. “You know you love it, Flash.” She slid down onto him and stifled a moan as they adjusted to him filling her. His head dropped forward and bit her shoulder lightly. “Holy… _fuck_ …” he moaned.

They found a rhythm easily, him grinding her hips into the wall and her matching him, thrust for thrust. Iris’ head fell back against the wall and she dug her heels into his back as her orgasm rocked up and through her. She bit into his neck when it came, because the way Barry was thrusting into her, she was going to wake up the whole damn house. She was gasping for breath when Barry came as well, his movements wilder and more erratic, and then he was falling against her, exhausted. They stood like that for a while, Iris’ hands tangled in his hair and his face in her neck, and then she started shaking. “Iris?” Barry asked. “Iris, are you – Oh my God. You’re laughing again.”

Iris’ giggles were making her eyes water, but she kissed Barry anyway.

***

** omg iris I’m gonna die **

you’re not going to die, you’ll be amazing. Wally better be hypin u up

** He is, he’s being perfect **

** But I’m a mess **

** I have nothing to wear **

_Linda all three of the outfits you sent me are perfect_

Iris turned onto her side as she texted Linda, trying not to wake Barry, who was snoring softly. They fucked again after that first time, despite Iris laughing (“I’m going to get a complex, Iris”), before they decided to go to bed before someone caught them. Now the sunlight was filtering through the windows and Linda had woken her up with worry about what she was going to wear to the awards tonight.

** I shouldn’t b asking u anyway **

** Your brain is scrambled because that’s the only way you jumped off a roof **

_How mad is he_

** Your dad or eddie **

Eddie, dad already yelled

** Remember when we sprayed all his clothes with vanilla scent **

_That mad?_

** But that’s not important **

** The important thing is you helping me **

_Linda wear the black and white dress with the 1920s updo and the pearls my mom gave me_

** IRIS NO **

** I CANT TAKE THOSE **

_You can and you will_

_She would want you to have them_

There was a gap in the conversation and then Linda texted her again.

** I love u ladybird **

_Love you too lin_

** Omg **

** Omg **

** Why are we not talking about you having sex in bruce wayne’s kitchen **

_Linda_

** No **

** Did you get caught? **

_No_

** You are so inappropriate **

** Also I hate you **

_Because I have sex in bruce wayne’s kitchen?_

** Because I can’t tell you about my sexscapades because I’m dating your brother **

_Duh tell Felicity_

** She’s not answering her phone I’ve been texting her all night **

_Felicity smoak_

_Are u kidding_

** I was also surprised **

Iris looked up. Seven-thirty. That wasn’t so bad. She could just knock to check she was okay.

_Brb_

She slipped out of bed and into some fluffy socks, and then padded out to the corridor and to Felicity’s room. “Felicity?” she said tentatively, knocking. “Felicity, I just wanted to know if you – oh!”

Oliver stood in front of her with his shirt off, a bashful look on his face. “Iris.”

“Oliver! I’m sorry, I thought this was Felicity’s room. I-”

“It is,” he said quietly, and Iris’ eyes widened.

“Oh! _Oh_! I – that’s…oh. Could you, um, tell her to turn on her phone?”

“Noted.”

Iris practically race back into her room and grabbed her phone, grinning.

_GIRL_

_GIRL_

_It happened_

“Iris?” Barry mumbled groggily. “Why are you making that noise?”

“Texting Linda,” she answered.

“What happened?”

“Felicity and Oliver, _finally_. Breakfast is sure going to be entertaining.”

** SMOAK **

** SMOAK **

** Okay she’s not answering **

_Don’t worry, I’ll get the details_

Barry and Iris tried not to blush when they walked into the kitchen along with everyone else, surprised when they saw Clark up and… ”You’re making pancakes?”

“ _We_ are making pancakes,” he said cheerfully. He and Bruce were standing by the stove in matching aprons and hats. He spooned some into Kara’s plate and nudged Bruce. Bruce glared at him. “I have things to do, Clark.”

“We are making our team celebratory pancakes, Bruce. We had our first victory and we need to congratulate everyone. Pass me the blueberries.”

“I hate you.”

Barry laughed and pulled Iris onto his lap as Clark pushed pancakes towards them just as Hal and Laurel wandered into the kitchen. “Morning everyone,” Hal said cheerfully. “Good to know everyone’s still alive. Where’s Oliver?”

“Busy,” Iris snickered, leaning over her and Barry’s pancakes. He poked her and she yelped. “Um, he should be down in a minute.”

“What’s everyone doing today?”

“Well, Iris and I are about to get our asses handed to us by Mason and Perry,” Lois informed everyone. “Apparently we’re not supposed to find Parademons and jump off buildings. Go figure.”

“Oliver! Felicity!” Clark greeted them as they came in. “Chocolate or blueberry pancakes?”

“Chocolate,” they said together. Oliver smiled. “I think we deserve something sweet this morning.”

“I’ll bet you do,” Barry muttered, and Oliver glared at him.

“I hate you.”

Laurel stared at them, and then at Clark and Bruce. “It’s like looking in a mirror.”

“Did everyone get a good night’s sleep?” James enquired politely. Everyone looked at each other.

“Yeah,” Barry said in a high voice. “Yeah, good sleep. Very…well rested.”

“I feel much better than yesterday,” Kara added helpfully.

“We had sex,” Hal said blithely, and Laurel hit him.

“Hal.”

“Sorry.”

“And on that note,” Bruce said as Clark gave everyone more pancakes, “is anyone open to another meeting today? It should work better this time around – we can start after Iris and Lois are back.”

“Sounds cool,” Kara said. “As long as Hal doesn’t start pissing off Hank again.”

Hal grinned at her over a mouthful of blueberry pancakes. “Can’t promise anything, Supergirl.”

Everyone at their pancakes cheerily and even Bruce smiled a little when Laurel came over and thanked him for his recipe, when Alfred ambled in. “Ah, just the people I wanted to see.”

“Alfred?” Lois frowned.

“I know we all had a trying time yesterday. And I know that makes us grateful to have the ones we love around us. But when you choose to engage in…activities with your significant other, might I remind you that there are cameras all over this house?”

Alfred gave them all significant looks, and everyone suddenly found they had to be somewhere else.

***

After Iris and Lois left, Barry spent the time meandering around the place. It was kind of hard for him, not having super strength or being an alien or whatever, because he couldn’t spar or use weapons like everyone else did. So he ran around the grounds for a little bit, endured Caitlin telling him that he better be eating enough, called his dad to tell him he was okay. He ran into Kara on the library balcony and walked up to her. “Hey, Supergirl. How are you doing?”

“Just enjoying the view,” she said simply. She looked at him, adjusting her glasses. “We’ve sure come a long way from National City High, huh?”

“I don’t know, I think this is a few steps up from Science Club.”

They laughed, watching Diana and Hal race each other. “They all do this by themselves,” Kara said quietly. “I have Alex and James and Winn and Hank, but they’ve all been doing this for years. How do we measure up to people like that?”

“I don’t think it’s about measuring up,” he said after a while. “I think it’s about learning. I mean, it’s not like I have laser eyes or control the sea, but no one else can run as fast as I can. Like we said, it’s about picking up where everyone else has vulnerabilities.”

Kara regarded him. “Well said, Barry Allen.”

“Barry,” Bruce called. “There you are. I need your help with something.”

Barry shared a look with Kara. “Yeah. Sure, I’ll help.” He waved goodbye to Kara and followed Bruce down the stairs. “I need everyone’s uniform measurements. You said you had someone make your suit for you?”

“Yeah, my friend Cisco.” Bruce nodded.

“I need to talk to him.”

They found Alfred in the great hall, and he stood when he saw them. “Mr Allen. Might I have the number for your team?”

“Oh, this’ll be good,” he muttered. He gave Alfred the number and almost burst out laughing when he said, “Francisco Ramon? Please hold for Batman.”

Barry heard Cisco stammer through the conversation about the materials and measurements and friction. When Bruce hang up, he was sure Cisco was going to be pretty glad that Barry had run off to start this team. “Good,” Bruce said evenly. “Now the Joker.”

“The Joker?” Barry repeated.

“Yes, I caught him after breakfast.”

“Don’t you sleep.”

“Barely. They took advantage of the chaos – the Parademons were a good distraction for him and Harley Quinn.”

Barry stared. “Harley _Quinn_? The psychotherapist?”

“You know her?”

“She’s a…friend.”

“Well, she’ll be taking an extended vacation in Arkham, if you care to visit.”

Barry bit his lip and Bruce sighed. “Barry, I’ve known you three days and you have the same puppydog look as Clark. What is it?”

“It’s just…that’s the place that made her like this. It made her his puppet, his minion. Is there any place else you could send her?”

Bruce looked at Alfred, who shrugged. “The boy has had a couple of good ideas lately.”

“There is some place,” he said after a second. “Alfred, get Amanda Waller on the phone.”

“Waller? Are you talking about-”

“Yes, Barry. I’m talking about the Suicide Squad.”

***

“…and then he said that I should be more like Clark!”

Kara gasped. “Really? He said that?”

“Yes!” Lois said indignantly, sprinkling cinnamon into the brownie mixture. “ _Sometimes it’s good to not be so reckless, Lane. You might learn something from that boyfriend of yours_.”

Iris snorted. “Mason said I should be more like Barry. He said he may be boring, but he’s not stupid enough to jump off a building. Everyone’s acting like Barry didn’t catch me. But whatever, I got desk duty.”

“Me too.”

Kara brandished the brownie mixture at them. “At least you have brownies, right?”

“True.”

Just then Bruce poked his head around the corner. “Alfred’s famous cinnamon brownies. Good choice.”

“I am telling you, I don’t know why we waste our time with all these men wearing spandex when Alfred is right there,” Lois laughed. Bruce smiled.

“Well, don’t take him away from me just yet. Iris, could I see you a moment?”

“Uh, yeah,” she said, surprised. “Yeah, sure.”

She followed Bruce out, where he led her to a part of the Sanctuary she’d never seen before. “I wanted to talk to you about Barry’s habits.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry, he just eats like that. You’ll get used to it, but I’ll tell him to slow down.”

“No, it’s not that. Barry is…very persuasive. He can convince people to do most things, I’ll bet.”

“Yeah, that’s Barry.”

“Which is why I currently have one of the most wanted criminals in the world in my basement, waiting to talk to you.”

Iris frowned. They had reached an underground cavern and Bruce pressed some buttons on a side panel and a hidden door slid open. “Iris West…Harley Quinn.”

Iris’ stomach flipped. Harley was sitting in the middle of a cell, just as shocked to see Iris as she was to see her. “I’ll give you two a moment,” Bruce said quietly. He disappeared up the stairs and Iris knelt next to the bars. “Harley? What are you doing here?”

“Your boyfriend convinced Batman to bring me here,” she said, holding up her handcuffs. Iris’ throat tightened at the sight of them. “Don’t worry about it, puddin’. The stuff I’ve done, I kind of need them.”

“I tried calling you,” Iris said quietly. “Me, and your parents…”

“I know, Iris. I just…I thought he loved me.”

She stared at her hands, because wasn’t that always the way? “Anyway,” Harley continued, a cheery note in her voice, “I got a new gig. Working for some chick called Waller and apparently I get some time off my life sentences. You ever heard of the Suicide Squad?”

“Uh, yeah. You know, you’d fit right in.”

“That’s what that Barry guy said. He’s a keeper.”

“Don’t I know it,” she smiled. Harley spotted something behind her. “Whoa, who are the hot brunettes?”

Iris turned. “Oh, Laurel…Selina. What are you doing here?”

“I was looking for you – Selina said you’d be down here,” Laurel explained. “Is this Harley Quinn?”

“The one and only, sugar.”

“Yes, I’ve heard of you,” Selina purred. “I’ve always wanted to work with you.”

Harley shrugged. “Hey, I’ll take all the friends I can get.”

Laurel rolled her eyes. “Because that’s a great idea.”

“Worry not, pretty bird, you can come too. And what was that lady’s name? The mob boss’ daughter, she can come as well.”

“Huntress?” Iris spluttered. “You want to start a team-up with the Black Canary, Harley Quinn, Catwoman and the Huntress?”

“And I know just what we’d call it!” Laurel laughed. “’Oliver and Bruce Will Stank Eye Us to Death’.”

“I’ll be fine, honey,” Harley told Iris. “Besides, you’ve obviously got connections – maybe you could swing a visit.”

Iris reached her hand out through the bars and squeezed her fingers. “Good luck, Harley.”

“You too, ladybird.”

After that, Laurel led her back upstairs with the others. “We need to get some stuff straightened out,” she explained. “Names, agreements, who gets Hal on Christmas…”

When they got there, everyone was gathered around the table. Iris went straight to Barry and kissed him. “I’m going to keep you forever, you know.”

“Good to know.”

“Okay, now that we’re all here…” Clark pulled a board and a map down. “Who’s got minutes?”

“I do,” Lois said. Clark clapped his hands together. “Obviously the arguing didn’t work, so I suggest that we assess threats and then split them into who’d best be able to face them. Sky threats? The aliens and Hal. Fighters? Diana, Laurel, Bruce and Oliver. Sea problems? Arthur and…whoever he deems good enough.”

Arthur sipped his beer. “Damn straight.”

“Noted,” Lois called helpfully. Hank cleared his throat.

“Jurisdiction? It’d be good to know where we could go.”

“No one should go anywhere unless they’re invited or needs help,” Bruce said. “After Doomsday, I think it’s best that Superman stays out of Gotham.”

“You’re so lucky I showed up,” Diana laughed.

“ _Superman stays out of Gotham_ ,” Lois wrote.

“What about a name?” Kara asked.

“I want something with ‘League’ in the title.” Barry shrugged. “We’re kind of like a league, right?”

“Yeah, but what?” James asked.

“A League of Superheroes?” Victor suggested.

“Corny,” Hal said.

“A League of Protectors,” Diana said.

“Wordy,” Oliver shook his head.

“A League of Justice,” Laurel said suddenly, and Barry grinned.

“ _Justice League_.”

“Justice League,” Arthur repeated, smiling slowly.

“Justice League!” Clark said giddily. “Awesome, it was so annoying calling you all the team. Leader?”

“Laurel,” Hank said immediately, and Oliver nodded.

“I second that.”

Laurel looked around. “Wait, _what_?”

“It’s logical,” Bruce said. “She’s the one on both sides of the law – vigilante _and_ lawyer.”

“She’s be able to tell us when we’re overstepping boundaries,” Diana added.

“I don’t know how we would have got through that day without her,” Felicity said.

Clark looked around. “So we’re all in agreement?”

Everyone put their hands up, and Laurel smiled nervously. “Okay, I guess…sure.”

“Motion passed, Laurel is chairwoman of the Justice League. Here’s to Laurel and the Justice you can’t run from,” Barry grinned, and everyone clapped for her, which made her go red. “Now that we’ve done that, how do we get everyone to trust us?” he contined. “I don’t know about you guys, but I almost got arrested because I tried to kill half of my friends because a metahuman turned me crazy.”

“He’s right,” Lois said. “A new superhero is hard enough, but a whole team of them?”

“Of course,” Iris admitted. “But what do we do?”

Hal looked amongst everyone as they thought. “Why don’t we ask,” he said, “the people who work at newspapers?”

“ _Oh_!” Clark, Lois, Iris and James said together, and Hal shook his head.

“Five Pulitzer’s between them and they can’t figure that out. And I’m supposed to be the idiot.”

***

** omg iris I’m gonna fall **

_you’re not going to fall_

** and then mason will take my Pulitzer from me **

_He can’t do that that’s not how it works_

** I’m not drunk enough for this **

_Linda put your phone away and pay attention for when they call your name_

“When is her turn?” Barry complained. “I’m tired.”

“You are terrible at being a supportive friend,” Iris berated him. “Give me your phone, I’m sending out another tweet.”

“Yeah, Barry, this is what happens when you date reporters,” Kara told him from where she was curled up next to James on the couch. “Do you have any idea how many of these things I’ve watched?”

“Hey!” James said indignantly. “You said you liked them!”

“I like snuggling up to the hot guy part of it.”

Barry laughed and pulled Iris closer to him. “So how did the meeting with the bosses go?”

“Great. Lois, Clark and I will write the copy and it’ll be in all three papers with James providing the pictures. It only took four hours of negotiations, three coffees and one shot of tequila, so I’d call that a success.”

James grinned. “You still drink tequila after Hoboken?”

“How does _James Olsen_ know the Hoboken story?” Barry demanded.

“He was dating Linda, it was a million years ago. Look, she’s on!”

Barry smiled fondly as Linda went up to get her award, and then frowned. “Sorry, it’s – Caitlin just texted me ‘911’.” He stood up and walked away from them. “Cait? Yeah. No, I – Cait. Caitlin, slow down, I don’t – Ronnie’s alive…He’s _not_ alive. He’s alive… but he’s on fire?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN DUN DUUUUUUUN  
> no spoilers, but the next chapter is ronnie, and then the finale wedding/epilogue


	30. The One Where Caitlin's Fiance Is On Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which two Flashes are better than one, and Diana drops some truth-bombs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> second to last one!

Iris sighed happily as Linda received her award, and then grinned when the camera panned to Wally and her parents clapping. The next award was for someone that James knew, so he was excitedly explaining to her how the two of them had spent a semester taking pictures in Europe. Iris looked around for Barry, who was taking rather a long time for a phone call. She excused herself to go look for him and found him in the hallway, pacing with a pained expression on his face. It sounded like Cisco was talking. “What’s up?”

“Ronnie’s on fire,” he said. He rolled his eyes. “No, Cisco, she didn’t know, how was she supposed to know?”

“Ronnie’s on _fire_?” she repeated. “But Ronnie’s dead.”

“Nope, alive, and – Cisco, stop yelling! Look, put Caitlin back on the phone.” He paused, during which time Iris tried frantically to find out what the hell was going on. “Cait? Okay, explain this from the beginning. Here, I’ll put you on speakerphone so Iris can listen.”

“Okay,” she said, and even on the phone Iris could tell Caitlin was majorly freaked out. “So, it…Well, Iris, did Linda email you something?”

She blinked, remembering, before snapping her fingers. “Yeah, she said it was a work thing, so I figured I’d just look over it before bed and then figure it out in the morning. Is it important?”

“Well, apparently your interns were looking for a man on fire, and they took a picture. Linda saw it on their computer at work, recognised Ronnie, obviously, and told me. I’m sending you the link…”

Barry and Iris started when they saw that this, indeed, was Ronnie, and he was on fire. His eyes were white and he looked enraged by something. “How did he end up like that? Do you guys have any idea?”

“I do,” she admitted hesitantly. “Iris, do you remember that file you gave me before you left?”

“The F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M thing? Yeah, vaguely, why?”

“We think that may have something to do with it, and we could use both of your help in figuring it out. Right now, he’s wandering around Central City Bridge, but he’s completely unstable and he doesn’t recognise me.”

Iris shared a look with Barry. “I have back-to-back conferences,” she said regretfully. “And I have to help Lois and Clark do the copy for the Justice League write-up. Besides, what with the whole ‘jumping off a roof during an alien invasion’ thing, I don’t think Mason would be too happy with me skipping out on anything.”

Barry thought for a moment. “Okay, how about _I_ go back and help, and I’ll keep you posted on everything? I would ask…the other Flash,” Barry said quickly, realising that Caitlin didn’t know it was Wally, “but this’ll be pretty big, and I don’t think he’s ready.”

“We could really use your help, Barry,” Caitlin said. “Dr Wells doesn’t think we can do it without you.”

Iris nudged his shoulder. “Go. We’re pretty much done here, and I can wrap everything up. You should talk to everyone, though.”

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

“Okay. Cait, I’ll try to get back tomorrow, but if not see whether you can figure out whether he has a pattern of movement, or whether he’s moving randomly.”

“I’ll get Chris and Annie to keep looking,” Iris added helpfully. “But they’re not going to get in your guys’ way; I’ll tell them to send all the stuff to me and then I’ll sort through it.”

“Great,” Caitlin said gratefully. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Oh! Barry, tell Batman I’ve sent him all your medical stuff.”

“You sent Batman my medical records?”

“Well, he asked. He’s very intelligent, you know.”

“Uh huh,” Barry said, and Iris laughed. He sighed once he’d hung up. “Are you sure you’re okay with me leaving?”

“No,” she shrugged. “I’m never okay with you leaving. But when you’re dating the Flash, you have to share him, right?”

Barry pulled her into him and kissed her hair. “Oliver might be able to get a chopper to get us back home – he’s been itching to check on Roy and Diggle anyway.”

“Yeah, Oliver worries a lot,” she admitted. “Although with him and Felicity finally getting together he may lighten up a little. What do you think you’re going to do?”

“…wing it?”

***

“So your friend’s fiancé…is on _fire_?” Kara repeated. Barry nodded as he sipped his coffee and looked at his watch again. It was inexplicable that _he_ was the one on time and _Oliver_ was late, but there it was. “Cool!”

“Cool?” Iris repeated, and James snickered.

“We have a very different definition of ‘cool’ in National City, especially when you’re fireproof. I think we had a villain that was on fire once. Or was it electricity?”

“It was electricity,” Kara told him. “Livewire.”

“You know, I saw the picture you took of that, with Supergirl,” Iris said, gesturing to Kara. She popped some blueberries into her mouth. “It was pretty good.”

“Pretty good? It was amazing! I don’t think I’ve ever looked better.”

“Well, Iris did a whole expose on the Scarecrow when everyone thought he was a hero helping mental patients,” Barry pointed out. “In _Gotham_.” Kara narrowed her eyes.

“James was the first person to win a Pulitzer for a picture of a metahuman.”

“Iris has been writing about metahumans since she was a teenager.”

Iris and James watched as their significant others devolved into a ‘my horse is bigger than your horse’ run. “Um, sorry,” Iris laughed. “That’s kind of embarrassing. Cute, though.”

“I mean, it’s not like they’re wrong,” James pointed out. He sipped his coffee. “And Kara has her own fair share of achievements.”

“Oh?”

“Well, there was the time she saved a plane load of people on her first night as a metahuman.”

“Well, Barry stopped a hurricane for destroying the city on his first night.”

“Kara defeated an alien army by herself.”

“Barry defeated a clone army by himself.”

“Kara has laser eyes.”

“Barry broke the sound barrier.”

“So did Kara.”

“For me,” she added. “Barry broke the sound barrier to save _me_.”

“Ahem.”

Everyone looked up to see Oliver and Felicity staring at them as they bickered about their girlfriends and boyfriends. “Wow,” Felicity laughed. “You guys sound like comicbook.com.”

“Dude,” Barry said. “Are you ready? I need to get back home.”

“I was saying goodbye to Felicity.”

“Are you guys going to be _that_ couple?” Iris wanted to know, and Felicity narrowed her eyes at her.

“Does anyone want to know the story of how Barry and Iris met?”

They looked at each other, not quite sure how to distil ‘We met and then fucked in a desk chair, but really we’ve known each other our whole lives’ into a story for the public. “Work!” they said together. Iris fiddled with her ring. “It was – I did – we met at work. Ahem, we should get to work.”

Barry kissed Iris goodbye as everyone gathered up their stuff. She fixed his collar. “Barry.”

“Mm?”

“Please don’t catch fire.”

***

“Eight pictures.”

“Seven pictures.”

“Listen, Catherine-”

“Do not call me that.”

“Perry-”

“Keep me out of this, Mase. Whatever happened between the two of you is none of my business – I’m just trying to get this thing written.”

Iris could see that Lois was resisting the urge to roll her eyes, and she and Kara were trying not to laugh. Since this morning was a rare stretch where all four journalists had the day off, they’d decided to get the outline of the copy done. The problem, apparently, was that Mason and Cat couldn’t agree on anything and Perry White was not going to police them. Cat sighed.

“Look, Mason, we’ve already agreed that the same copy will appear in all three of our publications. What’s the point in arguing over pictures?”

“Because unlike myself and Perry, your reporter doesn’t have to share facetime with other people,” Mason pointed out. He pointed at James. “CatCo is doing the pictures, and _The Daily Planet_ has not one but _two_ of its best reporters. West is brilliant, but it’s way too easy for her to be phased out of this.”

Iris’ mouth dropped open at Mason actually praising her, but then he had to go and ruin it, of course. “Stop that, you look like a fish.”

Cat rolled her eyes. “And they called me a terrible person.”

“Well, Iris is the one who witnessed the whole thing,” Lois pointed out. “What if she’s the primary writer?” But Perry shook his head.

“That’s too weighted. Besides, you were there as well, Lo, and you’re the one covering the human interest part – how the people who manned the hospitals and the police stations are just as heroic as the people who ran around doing the saving.”

“Plus I like Kent’s style,” Cat added. “West is cinematic, but he’s got this whole ‘hope springs eternal’ vibe to him. It’s almost not-nauseating.”

Clark looked more pleased than Iris would have at this, but then she supposed he was used to Cat’s humour. He adjusted his glasses in a way that was so like Kara that it was a little ridiculous. “Well, might I make a suggestion?”

“Go ahead.”

“Well, we were thinking we could split the article into four parts. You were right, iris _did_ witness it, so she can write that part. Then we need a section on the aftermath, which Lois can write because she helped with the cleanup. I can write about the actual alien invasion and the history behind it, which Lois can help with because she, ahem, actually knows Superman. But the most important part, I think, is the last part. We were there, we witnessed it – we need to let the world know that this is good. That what these heroes can offer us is hope. I think we should write it together.”

There was silence for a few seconds after that, and Iris could see why everyone loved Superman so much. And then she looked at Lois, and she could see why she loved him. Cat made a gesture that she supposed was supposed to mean she agreed, Mason grunted in approval, and Perry gave a nod. “Nice. Can I count on you to run this, or are you going to run off after the Bat of Gotham again?”

“No, that’s water under the bridge,” he laughed. “We’re all friends now.”

“What about the pictures?” Kara asked. “James took dozens; we need to pick the best ones.”

“Six pictures,” Perry said before the other two could speak. They glared at him, much in the same way Linda and Iris looked at Mason. “Six is a good compromise.”

“How is six a good compromise between seven and eight?” Mason wanted to know.

“Because neither of you are happy and this article isn’t overrun with pictures of men and woman in leather and tights. No offence, Olsen.”

“None taken,” he said easily. Cat cleared her throat, standing, and Kara seemed to snap to attention.

“Keira, go and see whether there’s someplace to find a seaweed wrap in this godforsaken city before I wither and die, and bring it to my next talk.”

“Right away, Ms Grant,” she said quickly, gathering up her stuff. After they left, Perry rubbed his face.

“Good to know she hasn’t changed since when I mentored her.”

Mason snorted. “How that assistant hasn’t murdered her, I have no idea.”

Iris resisted the urge to mention that this was distinctly like the pot calling the kettle black, and Lois cleared her throat. “Well, if you’ll both excuse us, we’ve got about eight hours of uninterrupted time before we’ve all got to run off to do a million other things, and you’re not paying us to sit around and talk.”

“Hear that, West?” Mason told her. “Maybe I should instigate a no talking rule for you and Park.”

“But sir,” she said in mock confusion, “how would we discuss your brilliance?”

“You’re a pain in my ass, West.”

***

“Okay,” Barry said as he walked into STAR Labs with Cisco, “explain to me what happened again?”

Cisco took the Twizzler out of his mouth and adjusted his headset. Barry had come straight from home after Oliver had dropped him off there, dumping his stuff and then heading straight to STAR Labs to see whether he could help. “Well, we’ve got good news and bad news.”

“Of course we do. Good news?”

“The good news is we’ve managed to pinpoint a pattern for Ronnie. For some reason, he keeps going back to Pine Crest Drive.”

“And the bad news?” Cisco raises his eyebrows.

“Apart from the fact that he keeps trying to kill us every time we get close?”

“Apart from that,” Barry admits. Cisco sighs as they get to the computers. “Well, it’s lots of things. Iris said she gave Caitlin a file about some sort of secret government project, and Caitlin was looking into it. It led her to someone called Professor Martin Stein, who was working on the F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M matrix.”

“Okay. What does it do?”

“Very good question, Mr Allen.” Dr Wells wheeled into the room, Caitlin behind him. “Welcome home. I’m sorry your successful exploits had to be cut short.”

“Anything to help out a friend,” he shrugged. “So, what does this matrix thing do?”

“It’s something to do with quantum splicing,” Caitlin explained. “And guess who went missing the night the Particle Accelerator exploded?”

“That thing keeps on giving,” Cisco muttered.

“Right. And since Ronnie was on that side of the Accelerator when it exploded, and that was the last place he was seen, we think that it must have affected them in some way.”

“How?”

“If my calculations are correct,” Dr Wells said, removing his glasses, “the exposure of the matrix at the time of the explosion would mean that the Professor would become mutable with the nearest living organism – Ronnie.”

“So essentially,” Cisco clarified, “we have Ronnie and Professor Stein in some weird fusion dance on fire.”

“But they’d be unstable,” Caitlin added, “because of the way they were exposed.”

Barry rubbed his temples briefly. “Well, okay. That’s not as bad as it sounds.”

“It’s pretty bad.”

“Hey!” Barry said. “I was in a coma for nine months, and you pulled me out of it. Bette’s entire body was a bomb, and she’s starting her new job next week. I think this team has a pretty amazing track record with the impossible.”

Caitlin cleared her throat. “Well, I kind of have a plan.”

“Great!” he said enthusiastically. “Whatever it is, I’m onboard.”

“Good, because I’m going to need you. I’m working on synthesising something to calm Ronnie down long enough to figure out what’s wrong with him. It’s something they use on schizophrenic patients in times of stress, and considering the circumstances…”

“It makes sense,” Dr Wells said. “Once we have Ronnie and Professor Stein safe, we can tak steps to find out what ails them, and hopefully reverse the process.”

“All we have to do is inject it into him,” Caitlin finished. She gave Barry a hopeful look, and he blinked.

“Oh, you want me to – o-of course! I can totally go after the crazy metahuman who shoots fireballs.”

“Barry, if you think it’s too dangerous-”

Barry put his hands on her shoulders. “Cait, I don’t care if there are fifteen people chasing after me with fireballs. It’s Ronnie. I’ll do whatever it takes to get him back.”

She smiled gratefully at him and Cisco whooped. “Okay, now we just need to find our boy. He may have a specific pattern, but he still disappears from time to time.”

“Oh, that’s easy,” Barry said. “Iris said she left Linda in charge of her interns and they’re the ones who find him. I can tell her to tell us when they find anything. But first I have to go into work and cut my holiday short.”

Caitlin and Cisco looked at each other, and Barry eyed them warily. “Guys,” he said slowly. “What is it?”

“Well,” Caitlin said. “That is…Eddie was talking to Bette, who told Wally, who told Linda, and we got drinks together last night, and apparent Joe isn’t too impressed with you.”

“Me? Why?”

“Maybe on account of the fact that you told his daughter to jump off a skyscraper,” Cisco muttered. Barry’s eyes widened even as Dr Wells started laughing.

“It was that or get eaten by aliens!”

“Hey, I’m with you. Plus, it was pretty badass of Iris to jump off and still think you were going to catch her in the first place. But Joe has a gun.”

“Great,” he sighed. A few inappropriate make-out sessions in his lab and at Joe’s house aside, Barry thought he’d done a pretty good job of dating the daughter of one of his co-workers without any unpleasantness. He supposed that asking Iris to jump off a roof during an alien invasion was a pretty good way to get rid of all that. “I’ll deal with that later, alright? Let me know if you find him.”

Barry walked out of the lab, dialling Linda’s number as he went. It was answered on the third ring. “Nice shot, Todd! I told you the pinata with Mason’s face would…Linda Park?”

“Linda, it’s Barry.”

“Oh. Hey, Flash.”

“Linda!”

“Oh, relax,” she laughed. “Nobody can hear me. What can I do you for, CSI the Dork?”

“I need you to let me know when the interns see Ronnie,” he explained. “I’m back in Central and we’re trying to figure out what to do.”

“No problem,” she said easily. “Are you at home?”

“I’m on my way to work.”

“…oh.”

“’Oh’? What does that mean?”

“Nothing, it’s just…Joe’s going to _kill_ you.”

***

“So Ronnie is still Ronnie.”

“Right.”

“Except for when he’s Professor Stein.”

“Correct.”

“But he looks like Ronnie.”

“He does.”

“He just doesn’t know he’s Ronnie.”

“Nope.”

Iris put her head on the table, which wasn’t out of place because James, Lois and Clark were just as exhausted as she was, before resuming her phone call with Barry. “Do you have a plan?”

“Caitlin wants me to inject him with something to get him to calm down, and then we’ll go from there.”

“That woman is a genius,” she smiled fondly. “I hope she knows we’d all be dead without her.”

“I’ll make sure to tell her,” he laughed. “How’s things going with you?”

“You know what happens when you get four award-winning journalists in one room and get them to write about the Justice League?”

“No, what?”

“Hangman.”

“Now, that’s not entirely true,” Lois said, taking a break from throwing screwed up balls of paper into the waste paper basket. “We have most of it done, and James’ pictures are very pretty.”

“And we’re _very_ good at Hangman, Iris,” Clark pointed out. Iris laughed.

“Fair point. I think we all just need a jolt of inspiration, to be honest. Keep me posted?”

“Sure. Wait, Iris,” he added suddenly.

“Yeah?”

“Your dad’s not mad at me, is he?”

“…I don’t think so. Who told you he was mad at you?”

“Cisco, Caitlin, Linda, Wally, Eddie, Bette, Jesse, and Captain Singh.”

“…. oh wow, maybe he is mad at you. I’ll talk him down, I promise. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Iris hung up the phone and looked around. There was a single laptop hooked up to the projector, where everyone was writing their paragraphs and the others were free to make revisions. James had also laid out his pictures, and the whole table was all covered in notes as everyone wrote and then discarded their ideas. Lois was right, they had indeed written the majority of the piece, but no one wanted to approach the last part. It was simply too much pressure.

“How do we round it out?” Lois asked. She started counting on her fingers. “We’re got the invasion, the community effort, the history behind it. But I mean…this is the _Justice League_. I don’t even know where to begin.”

“Every time we do we end up feeling self-conscious,” James added. “It does feel kind of self-indulgent and sappy, writing about what this means to _us_.”

Lois stood. “Okay, I think we should take a break. We haven’t left this room in four hours, and the walls are starting to close in. I have to make a few calls anyway – how about we reconvene in thirty?”

Iris wholeheartedly agreed with that, and wandered the halls while Lois went outside and Clark and James went to talk about some alien threat or other. She ran a hand through her hair, sighing as she walked to the hotel cafe. There was something missing from this piece, they could all feel it. It was like that when you wrote – you always knew when something was driving you and when it wasn’t. For her, there were two things that drove her. They were reporting the truth and Barry. The first part was obvious, but Barry was her strength, her rock. But she didn’t know if she could translate that properly to paper.

“Ingrid,” a bored voice said. “Aren’t you supposed to be writing?”

“Oh, Ms Grant,” Iris said. She put down the muffin she’d been eating. “Yeah, we were taking a break. Kind of hit a brick wall.”

She shrugged. “Well that happens when you spend all day glued to your phones. I’m fairly certain that all your creativity has leeched out of those Beats headphones you all insist on wearing. What’s the problem?”

“It’s…Well, we’re trying to write the last part, about what they’re going to mean to people, but I think we’re all too afraid to really tackle it. It just seems so big.”

Cat regarded her for a moment, and then took her glasses off. “Of course it’s big. This…Justice League, as you call it, has never had anything of its like before. It’s your job to make sure people feel safe with it.” She pauses. “Do you know what I say to my journalists when they come to work for me?”

Iris shook her head. “No, what?”

“They are the ones with the magic. And no, I don’t mean like your Rag Doll. I’ve never understood why people look down on journalists – wait, I do. They’re the people who think that scientific intelligence is the only kind of intelligence, or that bravery only comes when you’re holding a gun. Or that we have the audacity to think of ourselves as heroes when we don’t have superpowers. But that is what we are, Iris. There is heroism in walking this path, in writing about the impossible, the things that no one believes, because it takes strength to find hope for people.” She paused, rolling her eyes. “Of course, none of that means you’ll have it easy. They said that Lois Lane was sleeping with Superman and that’s why she was allowed so much access, that Supergirl is too female to be of any use, and that she needs to be ‘sexier’. And…well. For all the talk of a post-racial society, the leaders of it sure as hell look like the same band of pasty, old, straight white men who hold men and _especially_ women of colour to standards that they themselves cannot ever hope to reach.”

Iris sighed, folding her arms. Even with only barely a decade of experience between them, both Iris and Linda could attest to that. “Why are you telling me this, Ms Grant?”

“Because I don’t want you – any of you – to forget your part in this story. You don’t write it as just the superheroes bringing hope, you write as if you were right alongside them fighting as well, because you were. Lois was warning hospitals and police stations. You were warning the general public. James was up in a helicopter covering the damage and redirecting people from the danger. Despite the fact that his union insurance doesn’t cover being dropped out of the sky at a thousand feet,” she added irritably. “You are not insignificant to this story, Iris. Neither is Lois, or Clark, or Kara. There isn’t any point in being impartial or worrying about being self-indulgent. Your hope and wonder is what will make people believe in these heroes. _That_ is how you approach it.”

Iris stared at her, speechless, and Cat rubbed her temples. “Look at you, it’s like you just met the tooth fairy. All this time with Kara is turning me hopeful. Things were much easier when I didn’t know she was Supergirl.”

“You knew?”

“I am a _journalist_ , of course I knew. Who do she and Clark think they’re fooling, with the glasses and the sweet disposition, when they insist on rooftop rendezvous whenever they want to have a conversation?”

***

Barry paced up and down the Cortex, looking up at the maps of the city. He was tempted to just run around doing patrols until he found Ronnie, but Caitlin thought that was a bad idea. “You might scare him off,” she explained. “And we don’t want you tired out when you go up against him.”

“Right,” he sighed. He looked over at Cisco, who was sketching something even as he was monitoring the terminals with them. “What are you working on, Cisco?”

“Your suit. Batman asked if I had any ideas for modifications.”

“Batman?”

“Oh yeah. We’re totally on a first-name basis now. He calls me all the time.”

“His butler calls you all the time,” Caitlin corrected. Cisco pouted.

“That’s not friendship.”

Barry was frowning. Bruce didn’t even call _him_ that much, and they actually were on a first-name basis. Maybe it was something to do with him doing Iris in his kitchen. Twice. He cleared his throat. “You guys are okay with this, right?”

“Okay with what?” Cisco frowned, distracted.

“The whole super-team thing. I kind of realised I just ran off and did it, and I didn’t ask how you’d feel with it.”

He actually felt guiltier the more he thought about it, and he didn’t know how he could be more selfish. Okay, they’d known where he was going, but it was more of a unilateral decision, and they were his team. But Caitlin just shrugged. “We’re okay with it, Barry. They’re your powers.”

“But you’re my _team_ ,” he said emphatically. “The only reason I was even any good was because of all of you helping me. You guys and Iris.”

“Yeah, and what you guys did was between the two of you. We support you, especially if I get calls from Batman at all hours of the day.” Cisco grinned, and then paused. “But you know, you should talk to Dr Wells. I’m not sure how he feels about it.”

“You think he’d have a problem with it?”

“Oh, no,” Cisco said. “At least, I don’t think so. What kind of maniac wouldn’t be happy with a team of superheroes sworn to protect the world?”

Barry considered this. What with everything happening with Ronnie, they didn’t have the time to talk about what this meant for them, exactly, but he knew that he wasn’t going to get any faster without Dr Wells. He shook his head. “Okay, more on that later. Have we at least figured out why Ronnie keeps going to Pine Crest Drive?”

“That, we know,” Caitlin answered. She tapped a few keys. “Professor Martin Stein and Mrs Clarissa Stein have lived at 4673 Pine Crest Drive for years. Think he could be trying to find her?”

“Could be,” Caitlin said. “The human mind in a pretty powerful thing, so it’s not surprising that he remembers her.”

Barry was about to say something about that when his phone started ringing. “Yo.”

“It’s me,” Linda said. “Iris’ blog just got a message that Ronnie is around Pine Crest.”

“Thanks, Lin,” he said shortly, and hung up. “We’ve got him – Cisco, pass me the syringe. Can you guys give me directions?”

“Can the Black Canary kick the Green Arrow’s ass?” Cisco answered, and then cleared his throat. “Ah. Sorry. Go get ‘em, Flash.”

Barry sped away, zipping through the city in a haze of red and yellow as Cisco gave him instructions. He recognised this street, vaguely – he and Iris sometimes took walks down it when they were bored and just wanted to enjoy each other’s company. It didn’t take him long, though, to find the thing disturbing the peace; Ronnie was stalking slowly down the streets, his hands and head aflame. Barry was so shocked for a moment he could only stare at the person who used to be his friend, before rolling his shoulders, the syringe held behind his back. “Ronnie?” he called. “Ronnie!”

Ronnie turned, the flames pulsing and ebbing around him, his eyes blank slates. The effect was chilling; he was so unlike the friend that he’d come to know over the years. “Ronnie, I’m here to help you, okay?”

“Keep him calm,” Caitlin said quietly, a note of fear in her voice. Barry imagined how terrifying this must feel for her, that she was allowing herself to help on such a slim chance, and flexed his fingers. “I will, Cait. I’ll bring him home.”

He stepped towards Ronnie, who had stopped in the middle of the street, his head tipped in a gesture of curiosity. “It’s me. It’s Barry. I’m here to take you home, okay?”

He inched forwards more, cautious. “I just need you to turn those off, okay Ronnie?”

Just a little closer now, but those flames weren’t going away. He didn’t want to do it with speed because heat was still heat – the syringe would melt. “I can take you back home, I can help you-”

“ _My name_ ,” he snarled, “ _is. Not. RONNIE_.”

Barry was too shocked to move when he launched the fireballs at him, throwing him headlong into a car. The crash made him see stars, and the syringe went skittering off into the road. “Barry?” Cisco said desperately. “You okay?”

“No,” he groaned, rolling over. He studied the front of his suit, which luckily was only partially charred and wasn’t going to burn him. He shook his head, getting up, and looked around. His heart sped up in alarm. “Guys, he’s heading to Professor Stein’s house!”

“He must be looking for Clarissa,” Caitlin said. “Barry, you have to get in there, _now_.”

Barry sped into the house as quickly as he could, and was met with the sight of an older woman with blonde hair cowering behind a piano as Ronnie tried to walk towards her. Thankfully, he had put himself out. She stared at Barry as he approached. “You – You’re the Flash,” she stammered. “What are you doing here? What’s going on?”

“Clarissa…” Ronnie murmured, and she yelped.

“How do you know my name?”

“Mrs Stein,” Barry said carefully. “I know this will be hard to believe, but I need you to trust me. Your husband went missing the night the Particle Accelerator exploded, correct?”

“Yes…” she nods uncertainly, still eyeing Ronnie.

“Well, he was working on something – some kind of matrix. And during the explosion, whatever he was working on caused him to fuse with our friend Ronnie Raymond. Which is why he’s here, but he looks like Ronnie.”

Clarissa blinked. “My…” she breathed, and then swallowed. “My husband is in there? How do I know it’s him?”

Barry shrugged helplessly, at a loss as to how to explain, when Ronnie cleared his throat. “Every Sunday afternoon at four, you have a cup of Earl Grey tea,” he said quietly. “And then both of us listen to-”

“Mozart’s Symphony 40 in G minor,” they finished together. Her face broke into a relieved smiled, and Barry sighed happily and stopped blurring his face.

“Mrs Stein, my name is Barry Allen,” he said. “I work at STAR Labs, and we want to take Professor Stein there to see whether we can fix him.”

She looked at him, apparently not shocked that he had revealed his identity so easily, but then maybe she was just relieved to have her husband back. “How?”

“Well, I have a very talented team on my side. Professor Stein?”

Ronnie looked at Barry, and then at Clarissa who nodded. “I think if anyone can help, Marty, it’s the Flash.”

He looked down at his shoes and then nodded. “Alright. Take me to your team, Flash.”

***

“Ronnie Raymond,” Cisco breathed, and Barry shook his head.

“Professor Stein.”

They looked through the glass as Caitlin and Dr Wells examined him. It was weird. He _looked_ like Ronnie, except that he moved different and talked different and even looked at all of them differently. Right now he was sitting upright while Caitlin took electrodes off her body. “I can believe that,” he said. “When he came in I offered him pizza – he looked at me like I was crazy and said he wanted a 74 Latour and veal marsala.”

“The two of them couldn’t be more different, and now they’re fused together,” Barry said. He stood up when they walked out, their expressions sombre, while Ronnie remained on the table. “What do you guys think? Can you save him?”

Caitlin walked out of the room without a word and Dr Wells took off his glasses. “What is it?” Barry demanded. “What’s going on?”

“Ronnie’s cells are rejecting Stein’s like a host rejecting a parasite,” he said in a low voice. “The resulting instability is causing an exothermic reaction. If his temperature continues to rise, he could set off a chain reaction.”

“And then what happens?”

“He could go nuclear.”

Barry stared. “No, that…We can’t let that happen. Aren’t there any other options?”

“The only thing that we could do to separate them could cause a nuclear explosion. Unless we kill Ronnie, which we are not prepared to do.”

“Do it,” Barry said, and Cisco almost dropped his goggles.

“Kill Ronnie?”

“No, do whatever it takes to separate Ronnie,” he answered. “She lost him once, she can’t lose him again. How much time do we have?”

“Two hours,” Dr Wells admitted.

“Two hours, and I’ll get you whatever you need. Okay?”

Dr Wells regarded him for what felt like decades. “Alright, Mr Allen. Mr Ramon, talk to Professor Stein and then meet me downstairs.”

“I’ll be back,” Barry promised. He sped around until he found Caitlin, sitting in the Pipeline. “Cait…”

“He’s going to die again,” she said quietly. “Isn’t he?”

“No, Caitlin, we’re doing everything – we’ll fix him, I promise.”

“Barry, it’s impossible-”

“No, listen to me. When I was hit by lightning, you guys brought me back. We all thought Bette was going to die, but she’s walking around with a scientific miracle inside of her.” He smiled. “I think you deserve your fair share of the impossible, Caitlin Snow.”

***

“ _…and so you see before you, in all their glory, here is hope and truth and light, the Justice League_ ,” Iris finished, and looked at everyone. There was silence for several seconds.

“Perfect,” Diana said. “Absolutely perfect.”

“If I were that kind of guy,” Hal added, “I’d totally be crying right now.”

After an incredibly long day of writing and editing and revising, everyone had finally agreed on what to write for the last part of the article. Now, they had gathered in the biggest room (which Kara had decided was called the Hall of Justice), and as long as everyone agreed they were going to send it off for Mason, Perry and Cat to look at.

“I think that’s the best thing any of you have ever written,” Victor added kindly, but Clark was frowning.

“That last part, I think we should change it.”

“To what?”

“Remember what Cat said? That we’re just as important as everyone else. So I think it should be ‘we give you, in all their glory’.”

“Yeah, I like that better,” Laurel said. “And I’m chairwoman, so…” Hal looked at her.

“You don’t get to use that for the rest of the day.”

Iris laughed and made the change, before pressing ‘send’. “Okay, all done. In a few days, the Justice League will be introduced to the world.”

“I really like that picture of me,” Bruce said, studying the layout, and Lois laughed.

“Yeah, you’re almost smiling in that one. Although I do quite enjoy this one of Arthur and Victor.”

Iris had to agree with that – James had done a wonderful job. There were Oliver and Laurel fighting side by side, Barry running as Hal flew above him, and Diana leaping buildings as the Martian Manhunter used his laser eyes on several Parademons. Everyone started to move off into their own groups, training or reading, or just hanging out, and Iris felt a tap on her shoulder as she closed down the computer. “Oh, hey James. What’s up?”

He sat down in front of her. “I just wanted to tell you how well you did with the writing. All of you.”

“Well, a picture’s worth a thousand words,” she shrugged, “and we had to live up to six of yours. I’m just sad we couldn’t get them all in.”

“Yeah, I have one I wanted to show you, actually.” He pulled out a portrait photo. “I know we got stuck, but I still managed to take one of you and…well, Barry.”

Iris studied it, words failing her as she realised what it was. Barry was racing down the building as it crumbled around them, their bodies surrounded by electricity, but they were staring at each other. You couldn’t see his face, but even from this distance, it was clear that the Flash and Iris West were looking at each other like they were the only people in the world. James chuckled lightly, drawing her out of her thoughts. “Yeah, I didn’t think that would fit with the article. Might give a few too many things away.”

“Sure,” she laughed. “Um, thanks, James.”

“Any time.”

Iris was still studying the picture after James walked off, sitting on the library balcony overlooking the courtyard and training fields where a lot of the others were gathered.. She hadn’t even known she’d been looking at him – the whole thing went so fast. But there it was, in black and white. Even when she was in imminent danger, when the world was ending around her, as long as she was with Barry Allen, nothing else mattered. The thought made her want to laugh and cry, all at the same time.

“That is a lovely picture,” a voice said. Iris turned.

“Diana. Yeah, James…gave it to me. I can see why he didn’t put it in the paper.”

Diana smiled knowingly for a little bit before replying. “I am a…very old woman, Iris.”

“Well, if I live to be as old as you, I’d hope to look even half as good as you do now.”

“Thank you. But what I meant was that I have done much. Fought much. Seen much. And I know what it is to have a best friend, a lover, and a soulmate. And I am old enough to know the difference between the three. Not all are romantic.” She paused, looking out. “Arthur has his best friend, Jay Garrick. His lover Mera, and his soulmate Aqualad, his lieutenant. I have Nubia, my best friend, Steve, my lover, and my sisters, the Amazons, are my soulmates. Then there is Kara, who’s soulmate is her sister, her lover is James, and her best friend is…Shot Glass?”

“Winn,” Iris laughed. “Winn Schott.”

“You millennials and your nicknames. Oliver has John Diggle, that army man he seems to adore, and his soulmate is-”

“Felicity?”

“No,” she disagreed. “That is his lover. His soulmate is Laurel. I have not known them long, but even I know enough that Laurel and Oliver are too important to each other to not be in each other’s lives. Just as there cannot be a Green Arrow without a Black Canary, there cannot be an Oliver Queen without Laurel Lance.”

Iris considered this, and was surprised to find that she agreed. She wanted Felicity and Oliver together as long as they themselves did, but she knew that Laurel and Oliver would always have a connection. Laurel never failed to do whatever it took to save Oliver, and he had always been devoted to her safety. Maybe that was what Diana meant when she said soulmates didn’t have to be romantic.

“Hal has Carol, his soulmate, but he loves Laurel, and his best friend is most likely who owns the fridge he’s eating out of. As for Bruce, he may be in love with Serena and his best friend is probably Robin, but I think we all know that his soulmate is Alfred.”

Iris giggled. “And now,” Diana continued, “we turn to you. Iris West.”

“What about me?”

“Well, I think you’re one of the few people on this earth I have witnessed that has managed to find all three in one person. You and Barry are like two halves of a whole. You know each other, your thoughts align, even when you’re apart. It’s like watching two people dance the same dance in sync without looking at each other. In fact, the only people I’ve ever seen come close are Lois and Clark.”

Diana pointed, and Iris saw Lois and Clark strolling through the courtyard, completely oblivious to everything that was going on around them, which included Victor firing rockets at Kara and Hal and seeing who could catch them. Iris had lost count of all the times people said they looked like that, even before they were a couple. Maybe that explained it, how they’d been drawn to each other, how they could never spend much time apart without missing the other, and how she had felt like a fundamental part of herself was missing when he was in the coma. “Wow,” she breathed. “I…I never thought of it that way.”

Diana shrugged. “Most people don’t. But you are lucky, Iris, and I hope you and Barry will be happy together. Goddess knows we need more of that in the world. Now, I must go.”

“Where?”

“Bruce is fighting some threat or other, and I am bored. I’ll see you for dinner?”

“See you,” she said pleasantly, as Diana walked away. Iris fingered the picture, marvelling, suddenly wanting to talk to Barry, to hear his voice and laugh – and get an update on Ronnie. They had told her about finding him in Stein’s house, and a plan on how to stop his instability, but she had no idea how it was going. However, even as she was opening up her phone, Barry was already calling her. “Barry?”

“Iris,” he said, and the tone of his voice said it was urgent. “Where are you?”

“The Secret Sanctuary, why?”

“Does your blog have anything about Ronnie on it?”

She checked her blog quickly on her phone. “No. What happened?”

“It…Ronnie’s gone.”

***

“What happened?” Barry demanded, once he’d gotten off the phone with Iris. Cisco, who had just told him that Ronnie was gone right before he called Iris, ran a hand through his hair.

“Dr Wells and I were working on the quantum splicer – that’s what we want to use to separate them,” he explained as Dr Wells continued to work on it. “And then I went to get him, but he’d left.”

“Well, where is he?”

It was Caitlin who answered, her eyes glued to the monitor. “The Badlands, thirty miles outside Central City.”

“Minimum safe distance,” Cisco realised, and Dr Wells looked up in horror.

“He’s sacrificing himself.”

“What – we can’t let him do that!”

“No,” he said forcefully. He held up the splicer. “We can’t. Put this on him and activate it, and it should stabilise him. You have…twelve minutes.”

Barry nodded and Caitlin put on her coat. “I’m coming with you.”

“No, it’s too dangerous!”

“You don’t know how to activate the splicer!”

“Cisco can talk me through it!”

“There’s not enough time,” she disagreed. Barry stared at her.

“Caitlin, this isn’t you saying goodbye.”

She pursed her lips. “Let’s go.”

Barry gritted his teeth and picked her up, before racing out towards the Badlands. They found Ronnie immediately, standing in the middle of the ash and snow. “Professor!”

“Nine minutes!

He turned and his shoulders stiffened. “Dr Snow, there is no hope, I-”

“No,” she disagreed. She held up the splicer. “This was made to stabilise you. Please, you have nothing left to lose!”

He paused and Barry watched her take a step forward. “Ronnie? If you’re in there, I want you to know that…I love you.”

He stared at her for a moment, before pulling her in for a kiss. “That – was from him,” he said quietly. Caitlin nodded and put the splicer on him – but as Barry watched, flames shot out of his hands, and he grew so hot that Barry could feel it from where he stood.

“It’s not working!” she cried.

“Barry, both of you need to get out of there,” Dr Wells said, and Cisco cursed.

“Seven minutes, six minutes – shit, it’s getting faster!”

“He’s gonna blow,” Barry muttered. He was getting hotter by the second, melting the ground underneath him. He reached for Caitlin.

“Caitlin, we have to go-”

“NO!”

“Cait, I’m sorry!”

He picked her up and raced her away, even as the ground shook, and then put her down on the edges. “Wait,” she said. “Wait, Barry!”

“What is it?”

“This explosion, when it goes off, it’s going to created a shockwave that could level the city!”

Barry stared at her in pure disbelief. “You have to run around it, create a wall of wind, and that should stop it reaching the city. But…”

“What?”

“I’m not sure you’re powerful enough.”

The thought came to him like lightning. One Flash might not be enough…but two might. “I’m taking you back to STAR Labs.”

“Wait, Barry-”

But he was gone, dropping her off and racing back to the Badlands, before calling Wally. “No questions,” he said quickly. “How fast can you get to the Badlands?”

The question was answered when Wally turned up in his suit next to him. He whistled at Ronnie’s figure, already aflame and seconds from detonation. “You and I are going for a run,” Barry said. “Follow my lead?” Thank God for Wally West, because he just nodded and pulled his mask on tight, electricity crackling in his eyes.

“Lead the way.”

They ran side by side, kicking up dirt and debris, and a wall of wind rose up as the sprinted around and around in a circle. They both felt it when Ronnie blew, sending everything flying towards them but – inexplicably – nothing flew past the wall they had created. When it stopped, when rock and dust had settled, Barry gestured for them to stop. Two figures were lying in the middle of a very large crater, and Wally frowned when they raced over to them. “Whoa, Ronnie’s alive!” he exclaimed. Then he frowned. “Whoa, who’s the old white dude.”

“Professor Stein,” Barry grinned in relief. They were alive. Both of them. “I’ll explain later.”

“Okay. You good?”

“Yeah. Thanks for your help.” He grinned. “Flash.”

Wally grinned back. “You’re welcome, Flash.”

***

The first thing Iris West did when she got to her father’s house the next day was hit her boyfriend.

The second? Hit her brother. Unfortunately for them both, Linda already had that idea.

“A _nuclear explosion_?!” Iris demanded. “For real?”

“That wasn’t our fault,” Wally said, rubbing his arm where Linda had hit him.

“Besides, Ronnie’s alive,” Barry added. “That counts for something, right?”

Iris sighed, even though she had to admit that was true. When she landed, the first thing she did was call Caitlin, who was crying ecstatically about Ronnie being back. “Okay, but next time, could you give a girl a little warning?”

“Yeah, ladybird, the next time one of our friends goes nuclear, I’ll put it in the group chat,” Wally scoffed.

“Asshole.”

“Okay,” Linda said. “On that note, who wants dinner?”

Before Iris could answer, however, the door opened. “Iris? Wally?” Joe called.

Barry yelped. “Why didn’t you guys tell me he was coming?”

Linda stared at him. “It’s _his_ house!”

Joe’s face was devoid of expression when he walked in and saw Barry, who gulped. “Hey, Joe. Um, sir. Mr West.”

Joe took a step towards him, and Barry stood. “Dad,” Iris said quietly. Joe held up a hand.

“A skyscraper.”

“Dad.”

Barry squeaked and moved towards the French doors.

“A Metropolis…skyscraper.”

“Dad, it was that or aliens!”

“That’s true!” Barry added, pointing at her. “There were aliens! Scary aliens!”

“A Metropolis skyscraper that was falling.”

Linda and Wally shared a look and Iris stood. “Dad, look at me. I’m fine, see?”

“She’s fine!” Barry spluttered. “Totally, one hundred percent fine!”

Barry was backing towards the door, but then Joe doubled back so he was facing him. “And you told her to jump!”

Joe took a step towards Barry as Iris yelled ‘Dad!’, and then Wally was standing between them both, red sparks dancing on the floor. Joe’s eyes widened. “Wally? _You’re_ the other Flash?”

“Run, Barry, _run_!” Wally shouted. Barry ran, Iris sighed in relief, and Linda was pounding her fist on the table, she was laughing so hard.

***

“…so then I had to tell him what the Parademons would have done to me,” Iris said. “So he calmed down. Where are you?”

Barry looked around, the phone pressed to his ear. “My lab. I had to get some stuff anyway, and Eddie wanted to talk to me about something. Besides, I wasn’t really thinking. Is he still mad at you?”

“Yeah, but he’s madder at me for getting involved in the first place, so everything’s back to normal. But I guess that’s what happens when you’re True North and the Flash.”

“Who knew being a power couple would be this hard?”

“God, you’re a dork.”

“I love you too, Iris.”

She laughed. “Yeah, I love you, whatever. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Barry hung up and sorted through his desk, frowning when he saw a newspaper fall out. His eyes fell on Iris’ name, and he felt a jolt of surprise when he realised that it was her article from when the Particle Accelerator was still a thing of hope and beauty. He skimmed over the dedication, a familiar smile coming over his face as he read his favourite.

 _Thank you for making a scientist out of this storyteller_.

Every time he read it, it felt like forever. Because that’s what they were, wasn’t it? They had known and loved each other before they even knew each other, and they would forever. He knew that as well as he knew his name was Barry Allen.

“Yo, Bar?”

“Eddie,” he said quickly. He put the article down. “What was so urgent you needed to see me straight away.”

Eddie walked towards him, a giddy smile on his face, and pulled out a ring box. He popped it open and Barry stared at him. “Eddie, you asking me to marry you?”

“No. I’m going to ask Bette to marry me again. And I need your help.”

***

“So what is this thing again?” Iris asked as they walked towards Jitters the next day. Barry rubbed the back of his head and Linda laughed.

“Well, originally it was a ‘Welcome Back Ronnie party’,” she explained.

“But then Bette wanted to come, so it became a ‘Welcome Back Dead Fiancés party,” Wally said.

“But then I rounded it out and it became ‘Thank God Lightning Didn’t Ruin Our Lives party’,” Barry finished. Iris looked at them all.

“How did we get that on the banner?”

Barry laughed and pulled her into Jitters, where half the precinct and their friends were already gathered. Joe was standing next to Bette and Eddie and gave him a half smile, so at least he wasn’t going to get shot any time soon. Everyone was sitting around talking, laughing and eating. They walked over to Caitlin, Cisco and Ronnie, who got up when he saw them. Iris and Linda hugged him immediately.

“It is so good to have you back,” Linda said warmly.

“Good to be back. Um, is _everyone_ dating now?”

“Cisco’s not dating anyone,” Caitlin said. He rolled his eyes.

“Just because you refused to acknowledge my relationship, doesn’t mean I’m not dating.”

“Who are you dating?” Wally wondered.

“Lisa Snart,” Iris and Linda answered.

“The felon?”

“She’s not a _felon_ , she-”

“Ahem,” Barry said quickly, and gestured to Kendra, who was bringing them a plate of donuts.

“Ronnie,” she greeted them. “It’s nice to see you. Wally was telling me you got a little screwed up by the explosion. What happened?”

“Lightning psychosis,” Caitlin said, and Kendra raised her eyebrows.

“Oh! You mean like Bette and Barry?”

“Yes,” Ronnie nodded. “Exactly like them.”

“Well, I hope everything gets better.”

Ronnie grinned and put his arm around Caitlin. “It already has.”

“Awwwwww!” Iris and Linda cooed. Barry noticed Eddie giving him a meaningful look and cleared his throat.

“Guys,” he said, gesturing to where Eddie was leading Bette to the middle of the room, a bemused expression on her face. Iris looked up at him. “What’s going on?”

“Watch.”

“He – Barry, what did the two of you do?”

“ _Watch_.”

Eddie got down on one knee, and the whole room gasped and went silent. “Sergeant Bette Meloni Sans Souci,” he said, even as Bette was trying not to cry. “I know we haven’t had the best luck in the past year, but I think I’m one of the only people on the planet who can say that the best thing that’s ever happened to him happened to him twice – once when you walked into my life, and the second time when you came back to me. Will you do me the honour of marrying me?”

“Oh my God,” she breathed through her tears. “Of course, of course I’ll marry you, Eddie.”

The room burst into applause, and Barry gave Eddie a double thumbs up. Iris hit him in the arm. “Did you help with this?”

“He needed someone to steal the ring off her finger without noticing,” he shrugged. Iris beamed at him.

“You’re quite the romantic, Barry Allen.”

“Oh, you have no idea.”

Later, when they were walking back to his apartment, she was still shaking her head. “I just can’t believe it. They want to get married next month?”

“I mean, they were supposed to get married a year ago,” he pointed out. “I guess they can’t wait.”

“Still, I hope they can get everything done.”

“Well, at least we won’t have that problem. When we get married there’ll be a speedster involved.”

Iris felt like the entire world stopped apart from her and Barry under the streetlights. “Us? I – You think about that stuff?”

Barry ducked his head, blushing. “Um, yeah. That wasn’t me proposing to you,” he said quietly. Not yet, anyway. But she was his forever. “But, um, yeah. Am I scaring you?”

And Iris thought of Diana’s talk of soulmates and how he’d always felt like the best part of her, and leaned up to kiss him. “No, Barry. You’re not scaring me.” She looked up at him and sighed. “Felicity and Linda are going to kill me.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m telling you the Hoboken story. Technically, you passed the criteria.”

Barry grinned. “Stop looking so happy!” she said, swatting his arm.

“No. I have been waiting a year for this, and now I get to make fun of Oliver because he doesn't know. Spill.”

“Uggghhh. Okay. So Felicity and I went to visit Linda at NYU. Dawn was supposed to come, but she was visiting family. So we were in Linda’s room, and we got a little drunk, so we decided it would be a good idea to go to a tapas bar.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Except that we were so drunk we got on a train to Hoboken, and that’s where we ended up. So we’re at this bar, eating tapas and doing tequila shots, when the bartender, Miguel, starts dancing with us, and he kept giving us free shots. So then we started, um, dancing on the tables. And, um… we had props.”

“Props?”

“A sombrero, a piñata, and a leather whip.”

Barry’s mouth popped open. “Yeah,” Iris said. “We were very popular. So we woke up the next day in his apartment covered in pink feathers. Nothing happened,” she added, “but we had the mother of all headaches and, you know. We were in Hoboken. So we left, but Linda suggested we take something to remember the night, and remind us why we _shouldn’t drink tequila_. Linda got the sombrero, Felicity got the piñata, and I got the leather whip.”

He stared at her for exactly two seconds before pulling her along the street. “Barry,” she laughed. “Where are we going?”

“To get you tequila.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know some people may not have enjoyed the JL stuff, but I got a kick out of it and I hope those that enjoyed it appreciated it. i also may have gone on a bit of a tangent with Cat, but oh well. Thanks for sticking around for so long ;)


	31. The Scientist and the Storyteller

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry and Iris celebrate the past, party in the present, and get some visitors from the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like the ending ;)

“Clark.”

“We’re almost done, I promise.”

“Clark.”

“We needed his help.”

Iris sighed. “He’s the best man, Clark. _He has the rings_.”

Clark didn’t reply, but Iris heard several bangs, a whooshing noise, and Arthur cursing. She winced, adjusting her bracelet. “Please don’t tell me that was-”

“Arthur’s enthusiastic! Besides, the fish are okay, and that’s the most important thing.”

“Just tell me Barry can get to this wedding.”

“Ah.”

“Clark.”

“Wait, look, I found him!”

“You _found_ him?”

He paused and Iris heard Barry whoop. “You probably shouldn’t have given him the rings, you know.”

Iris pressed her fingers to her temples, careful not to mess up the makeup that Joan’s makeup artist had so painstakingly applied. “He has three hours, and then he’s on his own when Bette wants to kill him.”

Iris hung up the phone and breathed through her nose, listening through the gilded double doors for any sign of strife, worry, or smoke. Because that’s what happened when the bride was a human bomb and any excessive excitement could cause her to blow the place up – you waited to see whether the wedding that would be taking place in three hours would make everything go up in smoke.

But what was a Tuesday in Central City without a little excitement?

Nothing sounded untoward – the makeup artist had done her make-up and Linda’s, as well as the rest of Bette’s bridal party, so now everyone was just getting ready and trying to calm Bette’s wedding nerves. Until she’d gotten a text from Wally saying that they hadn’t seen Barry, and that was when Alfred called her to say that he was helping some of the others with something. When she asked, he got all weird and said that they weren’t in _that_ much danger.

“Iris?” Bette called. “Was that Barry? Is he okay?”

“Yeah!” Iris called back, her voice uncharacteristically high. “Everything’s fine! You just stay in there looking beautiful, okay?”

The last thing any of them needed was Bette panicking about everything. Between the wedding planning, vetting all the guests, and then finding a place and a person that would marry them in such a short space of time, everything had been a little hectic in the last month or so.

Thank God, then, for Joan Williams.

***

“Joan, you’re a lifesaver,” Iris said. Jay’s wife grinned as Iris sat down with her coffee. Behind them, Bette, Eddie and her parents walked out of Jitters, chattering excitedly about all of their plans. “I really don’t know what we would have done without you.”

“Oh, please, of course. This is my job, after all, and the tougher the better.”

Spontaneous re-proposals and sudden weddings were all very romantic, but that was before you considered that they had two months to pull everything together. Guests weren’t a problem since the vast majority of their friends lived in Central City, and Bette already found a dress (though Caitlin was working on some modifications to accommodate the ‘human bomb’ aspect of the bride), but there was still the problem of the fact that they had that long to put a wedding together. So when she heard of the kind of wedding Bette wanted, Iris did the only thing she could – she called Bette.

“Besides,” she continued, “Jay wanted to come and see Barry anyway, so I was going to be ridiculously bored while they went off with Wally and learned about speedy things.”

Right, because Jay was fast now, too. Honestly, how many of their friends were going to turn into metahumans? Cisco? Caitlin? “But everything is…”

“Oh, totally. Bette and Eddie are going to get everything on their list – wedding in the Rose Room at the Town Hall, the Central City Orchestra will be providing the music, and something called the Star City Kitchen providing the food? Was that me?”

“No, that was Oliver,” Iris told her. “He felt guilty because…wait, I can’t tell you.”

Joan raised her eyebrows. “Is this something to do with the fact that Barry is in something called the Justice League?”

“In fairness, it was mostly because Laurel and Felicity bullied him into it.”

“I see.”

“And Barry says Jay’s welcome to join if-”

“Absolutely not,” Joan scoffed. “It is bad enough that we go to Atlantis to visit Arthur, and when he says he’s going for his morning run I look out the window and the man is _running on water_. And Arthur’s there shooting lasers-”

“Lightning,” Iris interrupted, thinking of all the times Arthur himself had corrected her.

“Yes, whatever. Out of that trident of his. I do not need a whole team of people encouraging that behaviour. He’ll help Barry when he needs it, but that’s it. Besides, Iris, my husband is an academic.”

Joan Williams had taken the news that her husband was a metahuman with characteristic ease, despite the fact that her nerdy professor husband could now run faster than the speed of sound. But then, that was Joan for you.

“Well, the invitation’s open anyway. You’re definitely coming to the wedding, right? Eddie and Bette are so grateful-”

“Of course, as soon as I can get him away from Dr Wells. Besides, Eddie was pretty much the only one Barry had out here until Joe decided to basically adopt him. Maybe I should make him a casserole…”

“I think planning his wedding is enough, Joan,” Iris laughed, and Joan gave her a knowing look.

“Hm. And is it going to be enough for you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you going to let me plan the wedding when you and Barry get married?”

Iris almost dropped the piece of muffin that she’d brought to her lips. “I, um – Joan, we’re not-”

“Oh, please. The first day I met you, you were bickering like you’d been married for years. That boy is going to make an honest woman out of you sooner rather than later.”

Iris smiled shyly. When she thought about the night when Eddie and Bette had gotten engaged again, and Barry said that he thought about marrying her, everything had fallen into place. Like, _of course_ she was going to marry him, who else would there be? But she tried not to dwell on it too much. It gave her an intensity of feeling that she couldn’t handle sometimes, like listening to a beautiful song or watching something spectacular. She tucked it into her heart and only took it out on bad days.

“One wedding at a time, huh?” she tried. “But you’re sure everything’s fine?”

“Iris, I’ve been planning these things for years. I know the urge is to panic, but what could go wrong?”

***

The best man could be in the Justice League, that’s what.

Everything else had gone according to plan, as far as she was aware. In an hour and a half, the bridal party would get in their limos and make their way downtown from the hotel to the Town Hall. Bette’s maid of honour would lead them all down the aisle, Bette’s dad would walk her down the aisle, and then they’d be married. Except that the best man was across the country helping Aquaman catch something called a Black Manta, which Iris didn’t even want to think about.

Iris straightened hopefully when she saw Cisco walk around the corner, hoping Barry had told him where he was because he wanted to avoid her being mad at him. “Cisco, have you seen Barry?”

“No, I was hoping you’d seen him. Eddie’s a little nervous and we’re trying to calm him down, but Barry’s his guy, so…”

“Right,” Iris said. It was quite sweet, that Eddie asked Barry to be his best man, but now she was starting to regret the fact that they were so close. Because of how hectic everything had been with the planning and organising, Joan had given everyone tasks. Wally was in charge of making sure Bette’s parents, Meloni and Christopher, got there safely. Ronnie, Diggle and Oliver were vetting everyone at the doors. Iris was in charge of making the dress safe and Barry. And there were countless other jobs that people were doing. Iris just didn’t know that being in charge of Barry would be more difficult than making sure Bette’s dress could prevent an explosion if she got too excited. “Anyway, how are you feeling? Ready for the day?” Cisco adjusted his cufflinks.

“Well, I am hiding from the Flower Arrangement Team and the Decoration Committee.”

Iris thought for a moment. “Both of those are Caitlin.”

“They are.”

“What’d you do to her?”

Cisco fiddled with his tie. “Well, my choice of a plus-one…may have, perhaps…been not to her liking.”

Iris stared. “Cisco, you didn’t.”

“Part of being proud of your relationship is being proud enough to show your significant other to your friends!”

“You really thought it was a good idea to bring _Lisa Snart_ to a wedding where the bride’s guests are military and the groom’s guests are detectives?”

“In hindsight, not my best idea.”

She let out a breath through her nose. “Francisco Ramon, if this wedding gets derailed because your girlfriend stole Meloni’s pearls or something-”

“Iris!” Ronnie walked in, handsome in his suit and tie. “Have you seen Barry?”

“He’s…busy. But he’s on his way. What’s up? Anything wrong?”

“Not much. The Gift Collection Body got a little freaked because someone sent a really big fish.”

That sounded like Arthur. “That’s Caitlin, too,” Iris frowned. “Is she in charge of everything?”

“Well, Joan noticed that she’s pretty organised,” Ronnie admitted, and Cisco laughed.

“When you guys get married, you’re gonna have a great time.”

“I’m not the one who’s bringing my felon girlfriend-”

“She’s not a _felon_ -”

Iris watched as the two of them devolved into bickering. It was nice, having Ronnie back, despite him and Cisco arguing at the moment. It was almost like old times…except now he was bonded with another human being and could shoot fireballs out of his hands. After the explosion, they’d inexplicably found that there was no radiation in the air or in them, and they were safe to start practicing their bond. According to Dr Wells, it was easier when they accepted the merge, something that Ronnie was especially happy with since Stein was doing all the thinking. He and Professor Stein had been working on their powers and how to properly control their powers, but that might mean moving to Pittsburgh for a while. Still, Caitlin was happy, and after everything she’d been through, Iris would be happy with whatever decision she wanted. She was about to demand that one of Cisco or Ronnie find her a sensible adult, like Caitlin, herself, when her phone started ringing. “Hello?”

“Hey, Iris!”

“Bartholomew Henry Allen, _you are late_.”

***

“I’m late?” Barry glanced at his watch even as he was running across the Atlantic dodging optic blasts. She was right. “Oh, crap! Sorry, Iris, I-”

“INCOMING!” Clark shouted, and there was a boom that shook his bones. He came to a stop on land and watched as Arthur and Clark took turns punching Black Manta, trying to scan for anymore of his goons.

“What was that?” Iris asked tiredly.

“Um. Nothing. I’m on my way, I promise-”

“ _On your left, Flash_!”

Barry dodged more blasts and then rounded up more of the people who were battling Arthur’s soldiers. “Uh, how’s Eddie?”

“Missing his best man. Bar, are you sure you can make it? Because we can-”

“No,” he interrupted. “No, I’ll be there. I promised, remember?”

***

“What was it that Eddie wanted to talk to you about?”

Barry shrugged, sipping his coffee. He usually spent Saturdays with his girlfriend if there wasn’t Flash stuff to do, and maybe see his father afterwards, but Iris said that she didn’t mind when Eddie called to say that they needed to speak. He was a little cryptic about it on the phone, but it was Eddie. He wasn’t going to be anything weird.

“They’re not moving anymore, are they?” Iris continued. “Linda said that they were looking for a bigger house in the area.”

“Yeah, well, with Patty transferring to Midway there was a detective spot open, and Bette got that job at the academy, so I guess Eddie’s going to be your dad’s partner again.” He made a face. “A house, though?”

“I know, right?” Iris agreed. “It’s so grownup. Linda and I literally watched Disney movies and ate cold pizza in bed the other day. And I still remember when Eddie used to run around pretending he was a Power Ranger. Now he’s getting, like, a _mortgage_.”

“Has everyone RSVP’d for the wedding?”

“Pretty much.” Iris shook her head. “I swear to God, Joan is a magical human being. I don’t know how she convinced the committee to give her the Town Hall for the wedding on such short notice.”

“As someone who’s known that woman all my life, I can say she probably just asked. Joan can be very convincing.” He paused, glancing behind her. “Look, there they are.”

Eddie and Bette ordered their coffees and then came over to sit next to them, identical smiles on their faces. “Okay, what’s going on?” Barry asked slowly. “Is this the part where you want to tell me you’re a supervillain? Because I had to deal with Blackout this week.”

“No,” Bette smiled. “Eddie wanted to ask you something.”

“You know you already asked Bette to marry you, right?”” Iris asked. “Asking someone else is illegal.”

Eddie laughed. “Funny, ladybird. But no, actually. So I know we’ve been through a lot this year, with the wedding being postponed, and then postponed again, and then the city blowing up, and then Bette dying, and then Bette coming back-”

“The point, honey.”

“Right. And I sort of realised that you, Barry, have been there for me – for both of us, through all of it.”

Barry shrugged and smiled easily. “Of course, Eddie. We’re friends, I’ll always be there for you.”

Eddie nodded. “Which is why I’m asking you to be my best man.”

Barry’s mouth dropped open and Iris squealed, her hands flying to her mouth. Bette laughed. “You – do you mean that?” Barry spluttered. “I mean, are you sure? You want me to be your best man?”

“Yes, he does,” Bette confirmed. “You were there when he decided he wanted to marry me-”

“Really?” Iris interjected, and Barry nodded.

“Yeah, she knocked him on his ass and he said he was going to marry her one day. Adorable as hell.”

“And between this whole year with the Particle Accelerator explosion and getting Bette back to normal,” he continued, shrugging, “I really couldn’t have got through this year without you.”

“Well, in that case, I’d be honoured to be your best man.”

Eddie and Barry sat there smiling at each other, and Bette’s eyes slid between them. “Barry, would you like to borrow my dress so _you_ can marry him?”

“Listen, I look hot in a tux,” Eddie told them all as Iris giggled. “Barry would be very lucky.”

They hung out for a little longer and then Iris said she had to go with Linda to get their dresses taken in, so Barry went to go see his dad. Truth be told, he was feeling a little guilty about it. Iris wasn’t worried about the threat and he hadn’t told his dad about it, but he had no doubt it was because he and Iris had decided to start investigating the Man in the Yellow Suit. There was no way in hell he was risking either of their lives, but he had to wait for a little, until everything calmed down, and then he could figure out a game plan.

“Hey, dad,” he said as he sat down. His father grinned at him.

“Barry. How are you, slugger?”

“Pretty good. Getting ready for the wedding. Jay and Joan say hi, by the way.”

“Joan’s in town, that’s nice. How many casseroles has she given you?”

“Five,” he answered, and they both laughed. Then Barry sighed and leaned forward. “Look, dad, I know you’ve been in here for a long time, and you don’t deserve to be, and everything’s bene crazy with me coming out of the coma-”

“Stop, Barry,” his father interrupted, but Barry wasn’t finished.

“I promise, I’m working on it-”

“Barry, listen to me. I have never needed to be proven innocent – you and I both know that’s true. The only thing I need, the only thing I’ve ever needed, was to see you live your life. And do you know how proud I am of you that you are?” He paused, glancing at something behind him, and smiled. Barry turned to see that it was news footage of him helping the Justice League. “You know, I met that guy once.”

Barry blinked. “You did?”

“Mm. He was in here, saving Joe from one of those metahuman things, and I caught his face just before he blurred it. The Flash,” he said admiringly, giving him a knowing look. “But as much as the city needs him, I need my son a lot more. Live your life, Barry. Be careful, but live your life.”

Barry didn’t realise he was crying until the tears splashed on his chin. “Okay.”

“I love you, son.”

“I love you too, dad.”

***

“That was fun,” Clark said pleasantly. Barry, who was wet and smelled like tuna, looked at him like he had lost his mind. Diana laughed.

“I’ve always loved your definition of fun, Clark.”

Arthur, who running a hand through his wet and tangled hair, grinned. “This whole Justice League thing is more fun than I thought it would be. Even Batboy.”

“Bat _man_.”

“I like mine better.”

Barry quickly got out of his clothes and collected his stuff from his room at the Secret Sanctuary. He’d woken that morning to find his phone beeping with a code yellow, which meant that there was a threat, but they only required a few members, and none of the support, so neither Lois, James or Iris got them. Except that he was late for the wedding and Iris was going to kill him. And then Caitlin was going to bring him back to life so that Bette could kill him.

“Hey, so do you guys need me? Just, I have a wedding to get to, and I’m the best man…”

“Oh, right, Iris was telling me about that.”

“She called you?”

“She called Lois, Lois called me to call her.”

Oh yeah, Iris was going to kill him. But at least there was one thing she couldn’t be mad about. “Okay, so tell Bruce I’ll send him the new specs for my suit next week, tell Victor that I know someone who will look into his biokinetics, and tell Kara that Iris really loves her donut recipe.”

They all wished him goodbye, and he hefted his bag over his back. The journey back across the country took twenty minutes, his shower took another twenty, and then he was standing outside the Silver Room of the town hall, where all the groomsmen where getting ready. When he went in, Wally, Eddie, Joe and the others – which included Bette’s dad – looked at him. Everyone was dressed in black tuxedos. “Hi,” he said uncertainly, looking around. “Sorry I’m late.”

“Great, you’re here,” Eddie said, sighing in relief. “You’ve got the rings?”

“I – I’ll be right back.”

He sped away, across town, and stopped in front of the room where he knew all the girls would be waiting. Iris was there, pacing up and down outside the doors, and he took the opportunity to look at her. All of the bridesmaids would be wearing cream dresses with little pearls sewn into the bodices, but Barry was fairly certain Iris would look the best. Her hair was curled and pinned up, and her skin seemed to glow with such ethereal beauty he wondered whether she was actually standing there. As if she could hear him, she turned to face him. “Barry! Oh my God, where have you been?”

“You’ll see it on the news.” He cleared his throat. “You look beautiful, Iris.”

“Oh,” she said, blinking in surprise. “Thanks. Um, where are the rings?”

He scanned her, before grabbing for her purse. “Barry, what are you doing?”

“You think I would go across the country and take the rings with me? I put them in here while you were asleep.”

Iris sighed in relief. “Why didn’t you tell me that on the phone?”

“Because you didn’t ask.” She swatted him and he laughed. “I’ll be right back.”

He sped back and held up the little pouch in front of Eddie. “See? Two perfect rings, all ready.”

Wally walked up to them both. “Awesome, the gang’s all here. Ready to make this one Mr Sans Souci?” They laughed and then Wally sniffed. “Do you guys smell tuna?”

Barry groaned internally. “I’ll be right back.” One shower later, he was there again, and Eddie looked at him with narrowed eyes. “Justice League?”

“Yeah.”

“On the day of my wedding?”

“This isn’t the Godfather, Eddie.”

He smoothed down his suit and adjusted his tie. “Sorry, I guess I’m just nervous. The last time we tried to do this-”

“Hey! None of that talk! Everything will be fine. It’s just a few more minutes, the guests are arriving and getting settled, and you and Bette will be…” Barry broke off as Wally started giving him a weird look from behind Eddie’s shoulder. “…will be married, and there’ll be cake and dancing and we can watch Captain Singh get drunk.”

“Barry’s right!” Wally said. “Just, right, as always. Barry, can I talk to you outside for a sec?”

Eddie narrowed his eyes at them but didn’t say anything as Wally led Barry outside. “What happened?”

“Linda just texted me ‘911’. And then Iris did. And then Joan did.”

“Uh-oh.”

Without a word both of them raced across town, and where it was only Iris before, Caitlin, Ronnie, Cisco, Joan and Linda had joined her, all in their wedding clothes. “What is it?” Barry demanded. “What’s going on?”

Linda rubbed her temples. “You really aren’t going to believe this.” Joan, who looked more stressed than Barry had ever seen her, sighed.

“Alright, so you know how Eddie and Bette are both Baptists?”

“Yeah…”

“Well, most of the Baptist priests were booked today, but they had a new hire at the last minute so they let me have him. But guess where he came from?”

Barry’s face cleared when Linda gave him a meaningful look. “He isn’t.”

Iris pinched her nose. “Don’t tell me…”

“You guessed it,” Linda sighed, and Barry threw his hands in the air.

“The Sun Dial Church? Are you freaking kidding me?”

“Apparently the priest was behind the whole thing. He was arrested a few minutes ago.”

“That case,” Barry growled, “ _will never leave us alone_.”

“So you mean the guy who was supposed to marry Bette and Eddie was in charge of smuggling drugs through stuffed animals?” Caitlin wanted to know.

“Tuesday,” Iris muttered, “in Central City.”

“What do we do?” Ronnie asked. Joan shrugged helplessly.

“I’m looking for someone – anyone to marry them, but it’s hard because the wedding is in literally forty minutes. Do you think they’d be averse to get married in a Greek Orthodox ceremony?”

“Somehow I don’t think they’d be on board with that idea,” Linda said. Then they all froze when the doorknob to the suite turned and Bette herself peeked out. Everyone gasped as they took in her ivory dress with diamonds sewn into the bodice, the beautiful train sat behind her, and the pearls in her hair. “Guys? What are you all doing here?”

“We’re just hanging,” Cisco said, gaping. “Damn, Bette, you look _awesome_.”

Caitlin nodded, near tears, and Bette smiled, kind of bewildered. “Thank you. Are you guys okay? Where’s Eddie?”

“Eddie’s great!” Barry said, his voice uncharacteristically high. “He’s great, don’t you worry about Eddie at all. Just go back inside and don’t worry, okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just the Wedding Procession Team wanted to make sure these guys knew what they were doing,” Ronnie said quickly, and Caitlin perked up.

“That’s right. Joan and I were worried that Iris and Linda wouldn’t know where to stand, so we’re just making sure.”

“Just trying to make everything perfect for today!” Joan added, and Bette nodded.

“O-Okay. I mean, if you’re sure. Don’t forget that we’re leaving soon.”

“We’re sure!” everyone said together, somehow managing to make their voices not sound manically frantic. Luckily, Meloni called her daughter back into the room for more pictures, and she disappeared back inside. “Okay, we have to tell her,” Cisco said. Joan looked scandalised.

“Are you insane? You’re not supposed to panic the bride forty minutes before the wedding, and I’m pretty sure telling her that the priest who’s supposed to marry her got arrested for drug trafficking counts as panicking!”

“Well I don’t think she’ll want to get up there and realise she can’t get married at all!”

Everyone looked at each other, frantic. Joan rolled her shoulders. “Ronnie, there’s the Greek Orthodox wedding downstairs in the Lily Room – go and see how far along they are and get back here. Cisco, go down to the lobby and ask whether there are any sea captains in the area, they’re allowed to perform weddings.”

“I’ll call Laurel,” Barry said quickly. “She might know someone. Hey, Laur? Are you at the wedding? Great. Um, so kind of an emergency, do you happen to know, like, a Justice of the Peace or something?”

Barry could hear the frown in her voice as she answered. “What do you need one of those for?”

“The priest got arrested. Long story.”

“You need someone to marry them? Hal, stop.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I don’t know any in this city – what? Yes, an ordained minister would work.”

“What is he talking about?”

“He says – Hal, be serious.” Barry heard Hal insist that he was being serious and Laurel gasped. “You’re an ordained minister? _How_? Bruce did _what_? You’re kidding.”

Barry rubbed his temples. “Hal. Hal Jordan is an ordained minister. Licensed to perform weddings and stuff.”

“Apparently being friends with Bruce Wayne can get you things. Also, he and Selina might be married. But I guess Hal can do it.”

He hoped that there would be someone else, that Ronnie or Cisco would perform some sort of miracle, but they both came up empty. “He was very adamant that they be Orthodox,” Ronnie told them. “I’m sensing that’s not negotiable for those two?”

“And all the sea captains are at the annual boat show,” Cisco added. Linda and Iris looked at him.

“That’s a thing?”

“Apparently.”

“Well, it’s all we’ve got,” Joan said, glancing at her watch. She looked at Barry. “Can you take me to the hotel? I need to get Hal into position and explain to the groom why a priest isn’t marrying him.”

“Who’s going to tell Bette?” Linda asked.

“Not it!” Barry, Ronnie, Cisco and Caitlin all said together. Iris grabbed her best friend’s hand. “We’ll tell her together. She can’t kill _two_ people in the bridal party.”

“Good,” Joan nodded. “They’ll need to leave in about ten minutes anyway. Is Ivanka still there?”

“Prepped and ready with the foundation and blusher, boss.”

“Good. We’re going to need it.”

They left, and Iris and Linda took a deep breath before opening the doors. Everyone looked up at them and Linda cleared her throat. “Hey, um, Bette. So, funny story…”

***

Both Eddie and Bette took the news that their priest had been arrested surprising well, once they heard that Hal was going to marry them. Though this was probably mostly because Laurel had seen his credentials to make sure they checked out, and she, Oliver and Dig were glaring at him from the congregation as everyone got ready. The Rose Room had been expertly decorated to Bette’s specifications (by three speedsters that had been equally expertly threatened by Joan) in ivory and pale pink, which went well with the wintry sunlight that sparkled through the windows and skylights. Rose petals were scattered on the floor, and the band played softly as everyone waited. Eddie was standing at the front with Barry, nervously watching the doors, while Hal was running through the script from which he was not allowed to deviate. Barry put a hand on his shoulder. “You okay?”

“Y-Yeah,” he nodded. “It’s weird. I thought I’d want to run. You know? They always say it’s like being shackled when you get married. But I don’t want to run. Not away from her.”

Barry smiled at him. “Then I think you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be, Eddie.”

The bridesmaids and ushers made their way up the aisle. Barry spotted Wally and Linda walking up together, before they peeled away to join their respective sides. Barry nudged Wally playfully when he saw that he was still watching Linda. “Planning the wedding?”

“Please, Barry. Linda’s been the love of my life forever. I’ve been planning our wedding since I was eight.”

Barry chuckled under his breath, but then he saw Iris walking up the aisle with Eddie’s college roommate, and swore his heart stopped, and he was transported to sometime in the future when she was the one in white dress walking towards him, because it seemed like he’d been walking towards her his whole life. Wally took one look at his face and muttered, “Dork”. But he was smiling too.

Everyone stood when Bette entered, flanked by her father, and Barry thought she’d never looked more radiant. He looked at Eddie, who looked like he had just come home, and Barry hit him excitedly, grinning. He’d never been to a wedding with this much love in the room, where you could feel it, where it was tangible. It was on baby Sara’s face as she squealed excitedly at everything, on Caitlin’s as she watched, no doubt imagining her own wedding that was possible again, and on Joe’s as if his own son were getting married. Which, he supposed, he was.

So Barry listened as Hal delivered a heartfelt ceremony, and handed him the rings when asked for, and cried at the vows (Wally cried and Cisco was crying in the audience, and the whole bridal party and Bette’s parents were as well, so he didn’t feel stupid about it), and when the time came for Hal to say ‘You may now kiss the bride’, Barry Allen let all the love in the room fill him up with light.

***

“It was a beautiful ceremony, Hal.”

“That’s all I wanted! Was that so hard, Oliver?”

“Yes.”

Barry rolled his eyes, along with most of the rest of the table. He and Iris were sat with Wally and Linda, Joe and the DA, Laurel and Hal, Oliver and Felicity, and the Diggles. Baby Sara was currently playing with Linda’s earrings, and Wally was staring at them both with the dopiest smile on his face, so Barry was definitely going to tell him about it later. They were waiting for Bette and Eddie to come out so they could start everything. After all the photos, they were getting ready for the cake, speeches and party. Iris was scanning the room, eyes narrowed, and Lyla cleared her throat. “So explain the seating to me again?”

“Detectives and cops on the left, military on the right,” Joe answered. “How much do you bet we’ll be at another one of these things in a year?”

“How much do you bet we’ll be at _their_ wedding in a year?” Iris muttered, nodding her head at Oliver and Felicity. Barry laughed.

“Actually, my money’s on Caitlin and Ronnie. Joan’s already planning it – although they may have some problems?”

“Like what?”

“Well, Ronnie wants a summer wedding, whereas Caitlin wants a December one. Should be fun.”

“What’s the compromise between winter and summer?”

Barry shrugged. “A melted popsicle?”

Iris laughed and then gasped. “They’re here!”

She was right. Bette and Eddie were coming out of the double doors to thunderous applause, and then everyone watched in awe and happiness as they did the whole cake-feeding thing. Then, finally, it was time for Barry’s best man speech. Iris squeezed his hand as he grabbed the microphone, and the table beamed at him. Everyone hushed, even the band, and he cleared his throat.

“Good evening everyone,” he began. “For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Barry Allen, and I have the honour of being Eddie’s best man today. I’ve never been anyone’s best man, but my understanding is that I’m supposed to tell some embarrassing stories about him and tell a few jokes at his expense. But his three closest friends are _my_ closest friends, I’ve worked with him for years, and I’ve met his parents. So you all know that I can’t tell any embarrassing stories about Eddie. Because Eddie is perfect. I mean, seriously, _look_ at that jawline.”

He paused while everyone burst into laughter and Eddie blushed. Bette, luminous in her gown, nudged him playfully. Barry continued.

“I met Eddie on my first day of work, and since we share a boss, I think it’s safe to say that everyone who knows me knows I was late.”

“Damn straight,” Joe muttered, and everyone laughed.

“Right. I was really nervous, I’d just transferred to this place, and I was in a strange city with no friends and family. And I’ll be the first to admit I’m not the most normal guy. So when Eddie invited me to go sparring with him because I didn’t really have a lot of people to talk to, I said yes. And he’s been my friend ever since.

“I’m going to take this opportunity to apologise to my girlfriend, who’s going to be embarrassed by this next part, but I’m going to use this next part to talk about superheroes.” Iris rolled her eyes and he grinned. “There it is.” He paused while everyone laughed. “We think that superheroes are these people who run around in tights or with costumes or with otherworldly powers trying to save everyone. And they are, of course they are. But they’re also people who risk their lives everyday, at home or overseas, to keep people safe. Or the people who risk their lives to report the truth, no matter how dangerous,” he added, thinking of Linda and Iris. “Or even the everyday stuff, like the ones who patch you up or keep you going or make you smile.” That was Wally, Caitlin, Cisco, Joe, and all the people he loved.

“We don’t know it, and we’re not told it enough,” he said, “but we’re always heroes to someone. Eddie is that guy, and I’m sure everyone who knows him knows that. He was my hero when I needed a friend, he’s a hero to this city, and now he’s a hero to Bette. We know that Bette and Eddie are these wonderful, brave amazing people who stand between civilians and danger everyday, but I know that must be only part of the reason they love each other. Because being a superhero to someone you love is _everything_. It is being there, everyday, and supporting them and loving them and protecting them. I’m really glad that Bette and Eddie have both found someone that is that to them.” He stopped, his gaze sliding to Iris almost involuntarily, who was crying along with the rest of the table. “God knows I’ve already found mine, and I don’t know what I’d do without her. So, to Bette and Eddie. Bette, I think I speak for everyone when I saw you’ve found a hell of a guy.”

Barry didn’t quite expect _everyone_ to start crying. He’d just written some words down and tried to make sure he kept to some kind of order. But Bette and her mother was crying, his table was crying, Joan was crying, Caitlin was crying…Jeez. Maybe he shouldn’t write these anymore. Iris pulled him down and kissed him. “Was it really that bad?” he joked.

“Barry, that was wonderful,” she said. “Seriously, I think you’re going to show Eddie up.”

“Oh,” he said pleasantly. “Well, I’m glad you all liked it.”

He didn’t tell her, though, that when he wrote his vows to _her_ , and was going to put everything he was into it.

***

Dawnette Jae Allen was named for a friend and a speedster.

She knew that, had known it for a few years – Dawnette Quinzel, the friend of her mothers who had been killed by the Dollmaker, and Jay Garrick-Donald, the man her father and uncle called one of their greatest teachers. But he had been in the Speed Force when she was born, along with Max Mercury and Jesse Quick (eventually, their father had joined them), so her parents had chosen to honour him that way. The same was true of her twin brother, Donald Wallace Allen. Technically it was _two_ speedsters, but Uncle Wally had joked that he didn’t want to go into the Speed Force to get someone named after him, so that was how Donnie got his middle name.

DJ and Donnie had inherited their dad’s powers, though they didn’t yet have his control. She couldn’t count the number of times she’d accidentally run off to San Francisco after being mad and needing to be brought back by a very unimpressed Aqualad, or Donnie had accidentally phased through a wall. Irey and Jai, their cousins, had much of the same problems, she knew that. Still, though, they were fairly good at it, and no one would ever be their father. Jay Garrick was the most level-headed Flash, Wally West the quickest to master his powers. But Barry Allen was the most powerful, the strongest connection to the Speed Force.

The world had lost a great Flash when they lost him.

They’d inherited a lot from their father, the Tornado Twins (their mother called them that, and now most of the Justice League had picked up on it). DJ had his green eyes and inquisitive mind. Donnie was tall like he was and always willing to help people. Both, however, had unfortunately, had also inherited his clumsiness. It wasn’t like one was clumsy and one wasn’t – it was just a matter of who got unlucky when. So when DJ heard a crash and her brother go ‘Uh-oh’ one August afternoon, she knew who the curse hit that day. She sped downstairs to see her brother standing over an old photo album of their parents, soda spilling over one of the pictures.

“Mom’s gonna kill you,” she said immediately. He whipped around and glared at her, his curly brown hair spinning around his head.

“You don’t think I know that?”

“What were you doing?”

“Uncle Cisco said there was a picture of Aunt Lisa stealing Uncle Oliver’s wallet,” he said glumly. “I wanted to see whether he was lying, and I got distracted.”

DJ leant forward and studied the picture, before groaning. She recognised that picture – everyone in their family always talked about how adorable it was, and it was her mother’s favourite. Their parents were dancing, to Nat King Cole as Pop-Pop always told them, and staring each other as if there was no one else in the room. “Mom is going to _kill_ you.”

“Thanks, DJ. That makes me feel better. What do I do?”

“Well, you have to tell her. She’s going to find out either way.”

“Where is she?”

“At the Daily Planet conference with Aunt Linda, remember?”

Donnie thought for a moment, and then realisation dawned on his face. DJ was trying to wipe the soda off the picture, but it was no use. “DJ.”

“Seriously, this is worse than the time you broke Dinah’s tonfas.”

“DJ.”

“I should have let her hit you. Maybe you would have learned.”

“DJ. I have an idea.”

She looked at her brother. “How much trouble are we going to get into?”

“If we pull it off?” he shrugged. “None.”

“And if we don’t?”

“It’s going to work!” He paused. “We’re going to go back in time.”

DJ stared at him. Usually, she was all for crazy plans, but this? This was the epitome of crazy. They’d only done time travel a few times, and it was always with supervision. And if things went wrong… “Come on,” he said, seeing the doubt on her face. “It’ll be simple. We know the day – Uncle Eddie’s wedding. And they tell the story all the time, so we know that we have to get ready to take the picture when they start playing L.O.V.E. And they held the wedding at the Town Hall in the Rose Room.”

He did have a point – their parents were so sappy they knew exactly what happened for that picture. She sighed. “When is dad supposed to be back from the Justice League thing?”

“Just before dinner. Mom will be back tomorrow.”

“Fine. But if this goes wrong, I am totally blaming you.”

They were over prepared, but they wanted to be safe. They put on party clothes because they wanted to blend in, and made sure both could visualise where they were going. Finally, they went outside, Donnie’s camera phone in his hand. They shared a look, and he took her hand. “Ready? We go in, get the picture, and then run back.”

DJ nodded, and the Tornado Twins ran forward, careened into the Speed Force, and went _back_.

The first thing to hit them was the sight – the party was in full swing, with people either on the dancefloor or milling around the food. And then they started to recognise people, an odd sensation considering they were from fifteen years into the future. They’d seen the video footage of Uncle Eddie’s wedding, but now they were in it.

“Don’t forget,” DJ whispered, “we have to blend in. We can’t let anyone know we’re from the future.”

“Why are you whispering?”

“I don’t know, it feels like we should be whispering. Quick, grab some food.”

They made to grab some stuff from a passing waiter, and DJ grabbed her brother’s arm, her eyes widening. “Oh my God, it’s Aunt Bette!”

“She looks so pretty,” Donnie added, smiling, and DJ nudged him.

“You think Meloni will look like that when you get married?”

“Shut up, _Dawnette_ ,” he said, but he was blushing.

“Calling me that won’t erase the gargantuan crush you have on my best friend.”

“Aren’t you the one with a crush on Connor?”

“Ew, no,” she scoffed. “He’s so mopey.” She put on a low voice. “’ _I must live up to my destiny as one of the last sons of Krypton_ ’. What’s Olsen, chopped liver? Olsen's mom is Supergirl. Plus, he’s always going on about leading the Justice League one day.”

“His father _is_ Superman,” Donnie pointed out. “And we’re twelve.”

“Oh, and he’s a mature fifteen?”

Donnie laughed and looked around. It was amazing that they were here, at an event all their friends’ parents always talked about. Apparently their dad was late to this and almost missed it, but made it just in time. That was his thing, apparently, being late, but always making a difference. He’d gotten lost in the Speed Force when they were younger, but when he came back he brought Jay _and_ Max, both of whom had gotten lost before him. “We have to find them and make sure they stay here,” he told his sister. “We don’t want them to miss the song.”

DJ nodded and ate some of the crab cakes. The one thing that their mother (and Linda and Steve and James, for that matter) always lamented was that metahumans had a food bill that could rival their mortgage. “How bad would it be if we gave everyone spoilers?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we could tell Uncle Eddie that he’s going to be Director of Intelligence at CCPD one day,” she suggested. Donnie frowned briefly.

“I think Uncle Cisco says that would create a causal nexus. But I think he would be more freaked out by seeing his best friends’ twins from the future.”

“Oh. Good point.” She gasped again. “Dude, it’s Uncle Hal. What’s he doing with the trombone?”

“Wow, he looks exactly like Dinah. Is he still on punishment for letting us go into space with him?”

“Mom forgave him, I think, but Conner’s mom hasn’t. I think he’s got a few years.”

Donnie nodded as they moved through the party, trying to catch sight of people without being recognised, and DJ marvelled at it all. It was weird, seeing these people they saw every day and having no one recognise them, but then he supposed no one was on the lookout for Donnie and DJ Allen. Their parents had gotten engaged about a year after this, so they were but a hypothetical. She was glad she had him here with her, her nerdy, clumsy, wonderful brother. They shared a lot, from their shared speed to their love of brownies and pizza to their fear that their father would leave them again.

Suddenly, Donnie grabbed her arm and pointed wordlessly. When DJ saw where he was pointing, her heart stopped. Her father was there, laughing as he talked with a couple of friends – Caitlin and Felicity, she realised – over at the bar. “He looks so young,” she said in quiet awe, the ghost of a smile on her face. Donnie nodded, staring. He could kind of see it when people said he looked like him, now, apart from the height. It was the shape of his face, even though he’d unfortunately inherited the West family ears. But this version of Dad didn’t have greying temples or broad shoulders and didn’t seem to need glasses. As he watched, their dad excused himself to go outside. DJ nudged him. “Make sure he comes back in, okay? I think they’ll play the song soon.”

Donnie followed him as he went out to sit on the front steps. He was on his phone but pocketed it when he heard someone coming. Donnie almost gasped aloud, because Dad always did that when they were out in public – it meant he was checking for any criminal activity. It was weird to know that he, Donnie, who Dad always carefully showed how to take things apart, was an outsider. But then, he supposed he wasn’t born yet. Dad turned around spotted him. “Hey, bud,” he said pleasantly. “You okay?”

“Yeah, um,” he said intelligently. “Yeah. I just needed some air.”

“Yeah, me too. I’ve always been like that.”

Donnie almost said that he knew, because of that horrible thing that happened in high school. It was weird, that he always had that strange anger towards people who hurt his parents before they knew him – why he hated the Dollmaker and Reverse-Flash. Still hated them. Dad frowned at him. “Do I know you? You look really familiar.”

“You know my parents,” he said, thinking on his feet. “That must be it.”

“Right. Well, are you having fun? I never went to many weddings as a kid.”

Because Grandpa Henry was in prison and Dad’s relatives were ashamed of him. “It’s okay. I like the food.”

But Dad was peering at him in that way he always did. Mom always said he could read what was wrong with her before she even thought to voice it. “Something bothering you?” he asked kindly.

Donnie didn’t reply for a moment. He had this fear in the future, his future, but he hadn’t voiced it to his father yet. He knew that Dad felt guilty about all that time spent in the Speed Force, away from Mom and them, but that didn’t stop him from being afraid. “Um. It’s about my dad. He had to go away for a long time, like…war. And he’s back now, but I’m always afraid he’ll have to go back. Or never come back.”

Because of Mirror Master and Dr Alchemy and Savitar. He was worried that he said too much, but Barry just gave him a thoughtful look. “Your dad sounds like a cool guy. I once had to leave someone I love very much, more than anyone else in the world.”

That was Mom, he knew. He was talking about the coma, but there was also defeating Savitar and getting sucked into the Speed Force. He had to leave them once, but Mom twice. “But I came back,” he continued. “I love her – this person – a lot, so that was what brought me back. Your dad, whoever he is, if he can, will move heaven and earth to get back to you.”

Donnie found himself nodding obediently, even though this Dad wasn’t a Dad yet, his words were working. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” He glanced at his watch. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I owe my girlfriend a dance.”

“Is she the person? The one you love?”

“That she is,” Dad grinned. “Stick around, maybe you’ll meet her.”

***

This was a terrible idea.

DJ had terrible ideas all the time. Teasing the ever-emo Conner Kent. Playing with Batman’s toys. Doing her homework at superspeed in the car. But following her mother from the past into a bathroom?

Pretty bad.

Because now she was just standing there, waiting for her to come out like an idiot. And what was she supposed to say? _Hi, I’m DJ, your daughter from three years into the future?_ She’d probably call the police. Or the Justice League. Dad wasn’t supposed to know how to time-travel yet. But she couldn’t help it. Everyone always talked about how wonderful their parents were, before they got married, how admirable and brave and charming, and she wanted to see. Except-

“Oh, hello,” Mom said, walking out of the stall. DJ swallowed as her mother crossed the room to wash her hands. “Are you alright?”

“I was just – um.” She gestured vaguely to her face. “I wanted to fix-”

“Your hair?” At her confused look, her mother laughed. “Your hair’s coming out of the braid, sweets. You want me to fix it?”

“Okay, Mo – ahem, ma’am.”

“Oh God,” she laughed. “Don’t call me that. I must know your parents from somewhere, Iris is fine. Come sit.”

DJ sat on one of the fancy stools as her mother took her hair out of the braid and started again. She knew that Mom had learned it from Nana Vera, Irey and Jai’s grandmother, because her own mother had died when she was small. Her hands were the same as they were from DJ’s present, warm and comforting, expertly working through DJ’s hair. “Do you go to school around here?”

“I’m starting Central City Junior High next week,” she admitted.

“Nervous?”

“Um, yeah,” she said in a small voice. She kind of wanted to talk to her mother about it, but those conferences took days, and she never liked talking about stuff on the phone.

“Why?” Mom enquired, twisting and braiding.

“It’s a lot of pressure. My brother’s not nervous, but he’s really smart. Science smart. Girls always have to be awesome and boys don’t. Plus there’s my mom.”

“Your mom?”

DJ almost shut her mouth entirely. Here she was talking to her mother about her mother. She twisted her fingers. “Yeah. She’s – she’s kind of amazing, and I’m not, and everyone always talks about all this stuff that she’s done-”

“Oh, you precious thing,” her mother interrupted. “Believe me, sweetie, your mom is not thinking about that. She just wants you to be happy. And have fun! But not too much fun, you’re there to learn.”

 _That_ sounded like her mother, and DJ laughed as she finished the braid. Then she looked at her watch. “Okay, my boyfriend owes me a dance. Hey, come find me so I can meet your parents, okay?”

“Good idea,” DJ agreed, and Mom squeezed her shoulder before leaving. DJ counted to ten and then walked out, spotting Donnie at one of the tables. He looked a lot like she felt, all starry-eyed and smiley. “Hey. Our parents are pretty cool.”

“Yeah, they are,” she agreed.

“We’re not telling them that.”

“Oh, never.”

They grinned at each other and then gasped as the band started playing the first few notes of L.O.V.E by Nat King Cole. They were standing slightly to the left of the official photographer, so no one would guess at the angle. And then, where no one could see them, Donnie and DJ watched their parents dance to their favourite song. They really seemed like the only two people in the world, even though they were surrounded by all of their friends and family and it wasn’t even their wedding. Donnie ended up taking about a million pictures by the time the song was over.

“Great,” he said. “Okay, time to go back-”

“Donnie,” DJ interrupted, “ _look_.”

They looked – and froze.

Dr Harrison was wheeling through the crowd, a small smile on his face, and stopped right in front of their parents, interrupting mom’s conversation with Aunt Linda. Dad smiled and said something, making Mom and Dr Wells laugh. Donnie cursed and DJ grabbed his arm. “Donnie, no!”

“We have to tell them!”

“We can’t!”

“ _Why not_?”

“Because that’s the rules,” she said glumly. It wasn’t like she didn’t want to, she did. She wanted to march right over there and grab that man who wasn’t really Dr Wells and say _get away from him, daddy, he’s going to hurt you_. Just like she wanted to warn him not to take on Savitar and leave them for ages. But they couldn’t. “It’s like Caitlin and Ronnie – we can’t tell him about them, either. They’re not around, but they still…visit. So that’s enough. We have to let it go.”

Donnie’s chin wobbled, but then he focused on their parents’ hands, entwined, and focused on all the good. On Uncle Wally teaching him to control his speed, on Helena Wayne teaching them both how to fight, and on running races with his sister. So Donnie Allen took his sister’s hand and raced away from 2014, waiting for the day their parents would catch up with them.

(They got the pictures developed and in the album before their parents noticed, but Dad knew and dropped it on them when he was serving the mac and cheese for dinner. “You were running around in the Speed Force,” he admonished. “ _Everyone_ knew.”)

***

_L is for the way you look at me_

“…I can’t believe Hal married Bette and Eddie,” Iris muttered as she and Barry twirled around the floor.

“It’s not like we had much of a choice. And he really is ordained. Although I think it was a dare.”

_O is for the only one I see_

Barry dipped her and Iris laughed. “Where’d you learn to do that?”

“Joan made all the groomsmen take dance lessons.”

_V is very very extraordinary_

“So your dad invited the DA as his date.” Iris wrinkled her nose.

“Yeah, Wally told me that was a thing. There’s a bet going on how long it’ll take before someone else gets engaged, if you’re interested.”

“We’re never going to change, are we?”

“Nope.”

_E is even more than anyone that you adore_

_And love is more than I could give to you_

_Love is more than just a game for two_

_Two in love can make it_

_Take my heart and please don’t break it_

_Love was made for me and you_

_Love was made for me and you_

_Love was made for me and you_

Barry and Iris stood there grinning at each other after song ended, before Linda poked her friend in the back. “Don’t worry,” she drawled, “I’m not going to interrupt the two of you staring at each other, I just wanted to make sure you’re not coming back to ours tonight. I’m counting on you, Allen.”

“Don’t worry, I’m on it,” he replied evenly, and Iris gave him a look.

“Is that so?”

Barry slid his gaze up and down her body. “Yes,” he said in a low voice, “it is.”

Iris felt a little thrill run through her and Linda grinned. “Good. You look happy, ladybird.”

“I am, Lin-Lin.”

“Good. Don’t fuck it up,” she said, pointing at Barry. Then she kissed them both on the cheek and danced away, grinning. “I love her,” Barry said fondly.

“Me too. Oh, hi, Dr Wells.”

The doctor was smiling as he approached them, no doubt enjoying the festivities. Bette had insisted on inviting him, since he’d helped save her life, and Barry was pleased to see he’d actually turned up. “Enjoying yourselves?” Dr Wells asked.

“I think when you see my dad and Captain Singh leading everyone in the electric slide,” Iris answered, “you can’t not enjoy yourself.”

“That was rather entertaining.”

“I’m really glad you could make it, Dr Wells,” Barry said sincerely. “I know Bette appreciates it.”

“Well, there are certain things you can’t miss, Mr Allen.”

Barry frowned for just a second, but the weird look in Dr Wells’ eyes disappeared. “Anyway, I think I was promised more cake. Have an enjoyable evening.”

He left, and Barry took the opportunity to pull Iris outside. “What?” Iris laughed.

“I wanted to show you the stars. They’re pretty, like you.”

“Corny asshole. Hey, do you know who the cute girl with the side braid belonged to?”

“No idea. I was going to ask you who the skinny kid belonged to. They looked really familiar.”

“We probably know their parents.”

“Probably.”

Barry pulled her close to him so her back was to his chest and they watched the sky as the sounds of music and laughter filtered through to the balcony, his arms wrapped around her waist. She squeezed his fingers. “Do you remember where we were a year ago?”

Barry snorted. “I remember a doofus who was late and then attacked the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen with an umbrella.”

“Really? Cause I remember seeing you and thinking that someone was going to fall hard and fast for you someday.”

Barry was silent for a moment. “I think I – I always loved you, Iris. I just had to meet you first. But it’s like my soul knew who it loved and life had to catch me up.”

Iris turned and looked at him. “Well, with lines like that, how could I not want to marry you?”

She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him, and it was everything, that kiss – meeting him and falling for him and being with him and saving the world together. “But there’s one thing,” he muttered.

“What?”

“When we buy a house, we need a room for Hal.”

Iris laughed and stepped into his arms again, and for a while before they went back inside, they were a scientist and a storyteller, who had found each other at last, simply content to watch the stars.

**Epilogue**

 

Dr Harrison Wells watched Barry Allen and Iris West leave, smiling. It was incredible that they had come this far together, the three of them, though they didn’t realise it. Because he’d planned it, the whole thing. Killing Barry’s mother. Having Iris see the Man in the Yellow Suit so it encouraged her to start her blog. And making sure they found each other, that Barry Allen had his lightning rod in Iris West.

He was also lucky that nothing was getting in his way. Barry had been adamant that his excursions with the Justice League and knowledge of another Flash would not impede their work, but he already knew it wouldn’t. Gideon told him.

So he enjoyed the festivities and waited. They had done what they needed to, he, the scientist and the storyteller. They had succeeded.

Succeeded in creating the fastest man alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so that's over!  
> Some notes: all of the names of children are accurate: Dawn Jae and Donald Wallace are from the comics, Conner Kent is the son of Lois and Clark (sometimes), and Dinah is obviously Laurel's hypothetical daughter (@ Arrow writers). Irey and Jai are Linda and Wally's kids. The line about being a mature fifteen is, I believe, from Young Justice, which is hilarious and everyone should watch. Meloni Thawne is Don Allen's wife and Bart Allen's mother.  
> You guys have no idea how fun it has been to share this story with you over the past several months. Your kind messages and words of encouragement have gotten me through some tough times, and I'll always appreciate it. I know people have asked for a sequel, which explains that evil ending, but because I'm not sure about it, I've wrapped things up in a way that means I can come back to it later. I'm willing to write stuff in this universe for the time being. If there will be a sequel, you will be the first to know.  
> I love you all. <3

**Author's Note:**

> I've made this into a series in case I want to write a sequel or write stuff in the same universe.


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